Country code |
GB |
Repository code |
234 |
Repository |
National Records of Scotland |
Reference |
RD1 |
Title |
Register of Deeds, 1st Series |
Dates |
1552-1659 |
Access status |
Open |
Location |
On site |
Description |
The Register of Deeds contains official copies of deeds presented to the Court of Session (as it is now known), and its formal name is 'the Books of Council and Session'. Contracts and other obligations which contained an express consent for execution could be entered in the register in order that in the event of proceedings being taken for enforcement, the recorded deed would have the force of a decree of the court, and an extract of it would be accepted as conclusive. Deeds could also be recorded for preservation only. The register thus contains financial obligations such as bonds, dispositions of heritable property, contracts of marriage, shipping contracts, building contracts, and some indentures of apprenticeship (usually of lawyers).
The registration of deeds was not regulated by statute until 1685, when it was made compulsory to 'book' within one year all deeds presented for registration. Until then not all deeds were booked, i.e. engrossed in the register, and they may sometimes only be found in the warrants series (see series RD11). Supplementary records have been transferred from the acts and decrees of the Court of Session, as noted in the list. From 1586-1649 the register was divided into parallel series named after the clerks who kept them: Scott, Hay and Gibson. After a period of suspension the register resumed in May 1652 under the clerks appointed during the Cromwellian regime, Broun (Brown) and Downie (Dounie). The register continued until interrupted again in 1657. The minute books (series RD6) show that deeds were booked until 1660, although only the warrants survive (RD11). The new register begun in 1661 after the Restoration can be found at series RD2-RD4.
There are calendars of the contents of vols.1-50 of the register, i.e. 1554-1595. In addition there are indexes of persons in the calendar, covering vols.1-32, i.e. 1554-1590. Thereafter the main finding aids for the first series are the minute books containing the parties' names etc (see RD6). These calendars and indexes are available for consultation in the Historical Search Room at the National Records of Scotland. |
Level |
Series |
Format |
Text |
Language |
English |
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