Category Archives: Manuscripts

Cataloguing the Livingston collections

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At the beginning of 2012, West Lothian Council Archives were successful in a bid for a £42,858 grant from the National Cataloguing Grants Program. The grant was awarded to enable the Archives to appoint a Project Archivist who could catalogue the records of the Livingston Development Corporation and five other collections that concerned Livingston, produce an online catalogue, and write a summary guide. My name is Aidan Haley I am the archivist that was appointed to work on the Livingston collections. I started the 18 month project back at the beginning of July and am now almost a quarter of the way through my time here.

The six collections that I have been working with are:

1)  The records of the Livingston Development Corporation, the body responsible for developing Livingston’s economic, housing and community facilities from 1962 until 1996. This is our most comprehensive collection, comprising some 25,000 items.

2) The papers of the Reverend Dr James Maitland, who was, in 1966, inducted as the first Church of Scotland Minister in the Livingston Ecumenical Experiment. The ‘experiment’ brought together the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Congregational Church (now the United Reform Church)and, later, the Methodists, in collaboration in the running of the Livingston Ecumenical Parish.

3) A selection of papers from Tam Dalyell MP, who represented Livingston as part of his West Lothian constituency, from 1963-1983. The papers we hold relate to issues that affected West Lothian.

4) The papers of Craigsfarm which became, in 1967, the first community centre in Livingston. Craigsfarm was the hub of community activity in the early years of Livingston’s growth and in 1973 was instrumental in forming the first Community Council in Scotland.

5) The papers of the Livingston Players, a community theatre group that performed its first play in 1970.

6) Papers of Community Councils of West Lothian which have been, from 1975, the most local tier of government in Scotland. (Livingston jumped the gun and had their own Community Council two years prior to this legislation coming into force.)

The idea behind choosing these six collections was that between them they provide a balanced overview of the development of Livingston across the fifty years of its existence, from its roots in three small villages with a population of around 2,000, to the largest town in the Lothians outside of Edinburgh. The information available within these collections covers the planning, architecture, demographics, politics, religion, culture, education and community development of Livingston; as well as its economic, social and environmental history. The records include official documentation, ranging from the Charter of the Livingston Development Corporation to internal office memos; technical maps, plans and drawings to minutes of meetings with community groups; there is also a wealth of photographs, around six thousand in total. These records are comprehensive in how they show why and how Livingston was built.

Outside of the Development Corporation records there is also personal material, such as the preparatory notes made by Reverend Doctor James Maitland when he started writing his book on Livingston. These notes include his memories of Livingston in its very early days – when there were less than a few thousand people living in Craigshill. Because we have this personal material, the collections contain both the ‘official’ history of Livingston as seen in the records of the Corporation that built it, but also the voices of the people who moved here, and sought to build a complete community where none had existed before.

Although Livingston has only just passed its fiftieth birthday, it has a rich and vibrant heritage. By cataloguing these collections the ultimate aim is to enable researchers, of any type, to locate and use information that interests them as easily and efficiently as possible, opening Livingston’s heritage to all.

 

New Midlothian Archive Guide available

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In Spring 2012, Midlothian Council Archive Service launched a new guide to the Midlothian archives. The purpose of the guide is to raise awareness of the archive collection and to encourage greater use of it. Copies of the new guide are available from local libraries or from Midlothian Local Studies. 

The Midlothian archive collection began shortly after the end of Second World War largely thanks to a man called Andrew Fraser, an unassuming native of Bonnyrigg who became county librarian for Midlothian County Library Service (then based inEdinburgh). Andrew had enough intelligence and foresight to start collecting material which was then regarded as insignificant and could be had for next to nothing. One example of this is a wonderful collection of old postcards of Midlothian. In Andrew’s day, these could be obtained quite cheaply, but are now very expensive and highly expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Fraser saved a lot of archive material which was almost thrown away during local government reorganisation in 1970s. Amongst these were volumes of burgh records, council minutes, and logbooks and class registers from local schools. These records form the basis of the current collection, although there have been many later additions, usually donated by the public.

Currently, Midlothian archives are based in two sites: Library headquarters in Loanhead and at the Council Records Centre in Bonnyrigg, which is not open to the public. The collection is maintained by the Council Library Service. Midlothian Council has not employed a professional archivist for some years, but there is a Local Studies Officer and a Records Officer who jointly care for the archives.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Midlothian collection is not vast, but there are plenty of interesting and unique items. Probably the best example is the Black Collection which contains over 150 scrapbooks about Penicuik and the surrounding area. These were compiled by two local men, James Black and his son Robert, from about 1880 to 1930. The scrapbooks record almost every aspect of life in Penicuik and are a rich source for local historians and genealogists.

The bulk of the archive collection comes from the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries, but there are a few earlier items. These include eighteenth-century minute books from the Guild of the Dalkeith Hammermen, the Penicuik Farmers’ Society, Loanhead Subscription Library (1818-53), and the Trustees of the Burgh of Dalkeith, which began in 1760. There are also several family and estate collections, such as the Don Wauchope of Edmonstone papers, a prosperous family that lived at the Edmonstone house in the parish of Newton, just outsideEdinburgh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new archive guide is an attempt to summarise the Midlothian collection and to make it more accessible to users. The guide is organised into eight basic categories, such as Local Authority Records and Unions, Guilds and Associations. There is also an index and a glossary of unfamiliar terms. It is worth remembering that many people may be unfamiliar with archive collections and may not understand how they are organised. The guide was made as simple and clear as possible whilst maintaining the highest archive standards.

It is hoped that the new guide will be first in a series and that new versions will be produced at regular intervals. There is still plenty of material to be added and many new donations. Recently, we were given the punishment book from the Dalkeith Combination Poorhouse which records the penalties handed out to inmates for misbehaviour. This is a fascinating document that shows the harshness of the Victorian workhouse system. In February 1874, a woman called Jane Brunton, who was 23-years-old, was locked up for 8 hours and denied food for being insubordinate to the matron.      

As well as the guide, we are also compiling new catalogues for individual collections. Once these are completed they are placed on the Midlothian Council website as PDFs. This is, of course, time-consuming but also rewarding and a good way to become more familiar with the collections and to uncover hidden treasures.

There is a huge amount of work to be done with theMidlothianarchives but we think that the new guide is big step in the right direction.   

 

 

 

 

The Fairport Magazine

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Fairport Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our projects in Midlothian Local Studies is to catalogue a large collection of pamphlets that once belonged to William Hutton Marwick (1894-1982). Marwick was, amongst other many other accomplishments, professor of Economic History at the University of Edinburgh, a Quaker and committed pacifist. His collection includes many rare pamphlets about politics, economics, social issues, peace and religion.

Amongst the collection are several small manuscript magazines compiled by William Marwick’s father, who was also called William. William Marwick senior was born inEdinburgh in October 1863. He spent his early years in Arbroath and attended Arbroath High School. Later, he went to Edinburgh University and became a Church of Scotland missionary.

 

The Fairport Magazine contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a teenager, Marwick produced his own in-house magazine called The Fairport Journal, which was named after his home in Arbroath. Eight copies of the journal have survived in the Marwick collection. The magazine is hand-written in best copperplate-style and contains short articles by Marwick and his friends.

These magazines provide an extraordinary insight into the intellectual life of a group of Victorian teenagers living in a small Scottish town. This must have been quite a serious-minded group of young people, judging by the articles they wrote and contributed. Amongst these are essays on science, history and literature as well as numerous short stories and poems.

Physics by William Marwick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fairport Magazine first appeared in October 1876 and consisted of 16 pages. It contained the first chapter of a story by the editor (William Marwick) entitled ‘The Two Young Crusoes’ and another called ‘The Far West’ by Henry Angus, as well as short articles and poems by other contributors. The magazine continued fortnightly until the end of the year when it was announced that a printed version would be available.

In January 1878, the magazine returned to manuscript form. Two of the main contributors were young ladies, Miss E H Smith of Glasgow and Miss M E Angus of Arbroath. The magazine seems to have been distributed only amongst its contributors who were allowed to keep it for three days before passing it on. Probably less than a dozen people ever read it.

It is not clear how much of magazine was original work or simply copied from other sources, but in any case it is hard to imagine anybody, young or old, undertaking a similar venture today. 

 

 

Home by William Marwick

The Alien Adventurer

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The Alien Registers held by Edinburgh City Archives contain the details of foreign nationals living in Edinburgh in the late 18th and early 19th century. Details of visitors and immigrants were kept by a local government worried about domestic security during the Napoleonic wars. In an age before passports were common, these registers are a fascinating record of the travellers and visitors who worked and lived in Edinburgh at the time.  If you’re interested in learning more about Edinburgh’s Alien registers, click here. You can also access an index to the names listed in the registers by clicking here.

You can read about one of the ‘aliens’ found in the register below.

Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, March 16 1766 – 30 April 1875

Jean-Frédéric Waldeck – at 107 years of age

In the spring of 1814, the details of the explorer, cartographer and artist Jean-Frédéric Waldeck appear in the register. Best known for his exploration of Mexico, sketches of Mayan and Aztec sculpture and the republication of a set of pornographic prints titled I Modi, Waldeck was also known for being economical with the truth. He most frequently used the title of ‘Count’ and claimed to have been born in various places -Paris, Prague or Vienna- at various times.

Although some sources suggest Waldeck was born 16 March 1766, his date of birth is unverified and variously reported. In the Register of Aliens he claims to have been born in Berlin around 1783, arrived at Portsmouth in 1807, and appears to have spent a total of seven or more years living in Great Britain. Prior to arriving in Britain, he claimed to have travelled to South Africa and participated in Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt. All of the details of Waldeck’s early life are a strange mixture of probable truths and unbelievable tales, most of which cannot be confirmed in any surviving records.

A contemporary by the name of Mary R. Darby Smith took an interest in Waldeck’s life and adventures and met with him in the latter part of his life. Waldeck’s admirer noted down some details of Waldeck’s life as a young man as he recounted it:

‘He resided in England for some years, and was often in company with Fox, Pitt, and Sheridan, and drank with them his full allowance of port, but was never intoxicated. He said he had frequently dined with George III. I wish I could remember the name of a nobleman with whom he stayed in Scotland at the same time that Lord Byron was a guest also.’

It is difficult to determine precisely how much time Waldeck spent in Scotland, where he was living, or what might have brought him to Edinburgh. Waldeck’s reasons may well have been political. The ‘Count’ claimed to have a gift for forging signatures with great accuracy, although this was described by him as a hobby, rather than an act of fraud.  Indulging in his fondness for well executed forgery, Waldeck claims to have imitated Napoleon’s signature. When the leader was informed of this, he personally chastised Waldeck and sent him to Vicennes prison for ten days. This is yet another unconfirmed tale…

In the register, he identified his occupation as that of an artist- Waldeck certainly had some formal training as a lithographer and throughout the mid and late nineteenth century, published a series of drawn depictions of sculptures and archaeological sites at Yucatán, Mérida and Uxmal. Waldeck claimed to have studied under none other than the influential French Neo-classical artist, Jacques Louis David- this again, is difficult to verify. However, it is possible that Waldeck was honing his skills as a lithographer and artist during the time he spent in Great Britain- there were certainly numerous lithography studios and artists working in Edinburgh throughout this period.

‘Grotesque Mask’- Mayan City of Uxmal (1838)

Waldeck was undoubtedly a curious and adventurous man and the unsubstantiated and at times absurd stories he told about his own life raise questions about the validity of the information recorded in the Register of Aliens. Nonetheless, the registers give evidence of the ‘Count’s’ presence in Edinburgh in the Spring of 1814 and arguably serve as one of the few official records that exist concerning Waldeck’s early life.

Waldeck eventually settled more or less permanently in France and one account explains that he married for the first time as an octogenarian and had at least one son with his much younger English wife. Waldeck’s death was in keeping with his colourful life.The ‘Count’ is said to have died near the Champs Élysées where, at the age of 109, he allegedly died of a heart attack while ‘eyeing’ a beautiful woman.