Future Edinburgh Tours on Hiatus

 

We are now over two years from the start of the pandemic and yet the world is still not where we had hoped it would be. Unfortunately planning for future tours is on hiatus. 

Unlike Ireland, the NRS/ScotlandsPeople Centre is an old building. More than 200 years old. As such, the ventilation system is not built to manage airborne viruses. Granted, masking would significantly reduce the risk, but the government eliminated the masking mandate for all indoor spaces. And of course, portable HEPA filters are inexpensive and could be placed in each room. Surely one would think a grant would be available to cover the costs, but this doesn't seem to have been considered as an option to safely re-opening. 

There are staff at the NRS who have only just returned to in-office work and they are doing so on a part time basis. It is anyone's guess when the staffing compliment will be back at full capacity, but I am thinking it may well be another year, sadly.  

The Historical Search Room is still by appointment only, time limited and priority is still being given to academic researchers and full time professional genealogists. 

In addition, many of the family history societies in Scotland are not yet back to fully open hours. This includes the Scottish Genealogy Society. 

All of these factors together create a great deal of difficulty in managing or arranging research tours for groups at least for the foreseeable future. As such, the Edinburgh tours are to be placed on HOLD until things change significantly. Certainly, this isn't going to be possible for the rest of 2022 nor likely the first half of 2023. Given the painfully slow reopening process thus far, and the incredibly limited options for individual researchers, as to when groups might once again be able to visit the NRS/ScotlandsPeople Centre is anyone's guess.

Damage to Original Records at the National Records of Scotland

Social media was on fire today with the news that precious original documents have been damaged at New Register House thanks largely to indifference. 

The building that houses the National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople Centre and the Court of the Lord Lyon was purpose built to preserve the growing number of government documents. The building of what is now General Register House was an 11 year process, from 1774-1785. That was 234 years ago. 

New Register House was added in 1869 to provide much needed storage for the documents that were being created following Statutory Registration in 1855. While perhaps a more modern addition, it is still a century and a half old. 

Unlike today, in 1869 next to no one in Scotland or elsewhere for that matter cared about genealogical research. Fast forward to 1977 when the western world was gripped by the new "mini series" Roots. That sparked an interest in learning more about our ancestors. The interest in the 21st century, with the easy access to records online and user friendly platforms to assist with building, storing and sharing family trees has grown exponentially. 

In response to this came innovation out of Register House in 2002, with the digitization of vital documents and making them available on the world wide web. More innovation in 2007 when dedicated research space was created for people to come in - literally off the street - to research their Scottish ancestors.

The world wide web soared in growth and more and more digitized records became available online. In response, the NRS changed service providers for their online presence, with a promise to bringing large sets of records online. Records such as Kirk Sessions and Court Records. Despite the records already sitting in virtual volumes, the promise of moving them onto the website has been rife with indecision, lack of follow through, lack of open, honest communication and has, ultimately, resulted in a false promise that has never or perhaps will never become reality. 

It is this same indecision and lack of follow through that led to the disaster last week of records being damaged as a result of recent torrential rain. Rain isn't new for Scotland. However, as the earth warms, the storms pack a bigger punch. Staff at the NRS noticed that the dome in West Register House sprung leaks whenever the rain was more than what Scotland had been accustomed to in 1869. These same staff raised concern. Repeatedly. And yet, like the promise of large record sets coming online, nothing was done. This indifference, indecision and lack of follow through has now resulted in disaster. Ruined documents. 

It's not enough to breathe a sigh of relief that the documents are digitized. They were digitized nearly two decades ago when the technology for digitizing was fairly new. It is not uncommon to find a document that is underexposed, overexposed or otherwise unreadable. When asked, the registrars are incredibly accommodating about returning to the original registers and re-scanning the page (using more modern technology) so that it is more legible. The public has no access to original records if they have been digitized. But the registrars certainly do and their job will be far more difficult as a result of the water damage from the leaky roof that no one took responsibility for fixing. 

The mind boggles that in a building full of archivists and registrars, the safe preservation of original documents hasn't been set as priority one. Five years ago, the NRS undertook an Estates Review and recognized the need for a new venue. 

We need a new purpose built archives for government documents. One with adequate storage so that records can be accessed within an hour rather than within a day or two. A building without leaky roofs. I think of the Highland Archives in Inverness, the Glasgow Women's Library, the National Library of Scotland and the Mitchell Library when it comes to more modern research space and adequate storage. 

While the Highland Archives is a very modern building, the others aren't. It IS possible to have both aesthetics and functionality. But that can't happen with indifference, indecision and lack of follow through. 

Research Day Three - Scottish Genealogy Society

We had a later start this morning since the SGS opens a wee bit later than the other archives.

 

Given the limited space available in the SGS, I left the group in the capable hands of the volunteers and made my way over to the National Library to order some documents for tomorrow. I made a detour to St Giles first.

 

 

Of course the masterpiece of St Giles, is quite likely the Thistle Chapel

 

 

 

Of course, no trip to the Royal Mile is complete without enjoying the characters that are routinely sprinkled along the street.

 

 

I did make it over to the NLS and ordered the documents I would like to peruse tomorrow when we visit as a group. Then I headed back down to the National Records of Scotland to consult the records of the appeals court as well as the kirk session records. Another very productive day.

Day Five - Scotland's People Centre

We enjoyed a very productive day at Scotland's People Centre today. We spent the morning in a Family History session, learning about all of the records that are available, then we were able to tuck in and do some serious research.

The wonderful thing about being onsite, of course, is that we can view "modern" records - those too new to be available online. Once the daily search fee of £15 is paid, you are free to view as many records as you can manage. There is a very nominal fee to either photocopy the images or download them to a USB stick. I am at the stage where I need access to the newer records to add foliage to my tree, so spent a lot of time transcribing.

I found one inaccurate record, and one that allowed the puzzle to have a couple of new pieces added to the picture.
By 4:30 my head was swimming with keeping the Marys straight. We headed back to the hotel to re-charge.

At 6:30, it was time to leave for the Stables at Prestonfield and the Taste of Scotland Dinner Show.

We enoyed our choice of Orkney Clapshot Soup or Gamekeeper's Paté, followed by the main course of either braised beef or seafood:

Salmon, hake and Finnan haddie in Mornay sauce and encased in puff pastry

Dessert was a very light raspberry Chranancan

Following dessert, we were treated to a solid two hours of Scottish music (pipes, drums, accordion, fiddle and keyboard)

song (by Scotland's Three Tenors accompanied by female vocalist Brigid Mhairi)

and dance (The Wee Highlanders and Prestonfield Dancers)

enhanced with video of some of the most stunning scenery in Scotland. The songs also gave a glimpse into the rich and embattled history of Scotland. Just prior to intermission, the haggis was piped in and host Cailean McLean addressed and then toasted the haggis.

During intermission, the audience had the opportunity to sample some haggis, bashed neeps and champit tatties

There was also the opportunity for audience participation during the Gay Gordon's, a sing-a-long and for Auld Lang Syne

The Taste of Scotland Show reminded me of Hogmanay parties at my mum and dad's. For anyone with Scottish ancestry, the Taste of Scotland Show is a must see.