The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Institutional Archive

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Institutional Archive is now available to researchers

Collections include records of:

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

College Minutes and Chirurgians’ Business Papers

Financial Papers

Medical Education

Charity provision

Old Surgeons’ Hall and the Playfair Building

The Society of Barbers

The School of Medicine of the Royal Colleges

The Royal Odonto-Chirurgial Society and 

The Lothian Surgical Audit.

The archive is arranged into the following sections: 

• RCSEd 1 Legal, governance and related (1504-2001)
• RCSEd 2 Minutes, administration, organisation (1581-2013)
• RCSEd 3 Correspondence (1600-2008)
• RCSEd 4 Financial records (1533-2011)
• RCSEd 5 Medical and surgical education, training and practice (1653-2007)
• RCSEd 6 Examinations (1770-2010): Triple Qualification (1884-1996)
• RCSEd 7 Photographs: Photographs of Presidents, Fellows and other individuals (19th-20th century)
• RCSEd 8 Buildings and land (1665-2007)
• RCSEd 9 Records relating to the College Museum, Library and Archive (1763-2015): RCSEd 10 Records relating to the Faculty of Dental Surgery (1946-2000)
• RCSEd 11 Papers relating to the Surgical Hospital/Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (1729-1841)
• RCSEd 12 Events, celebrations and social (1800-2005)
• RCSEd 13 Conferences and symposia (1962-2001)

Digital images have been created and are in the process of being uploaded. Those uploaded are available through the catalogue, accessed here: