The King's Theatre, Edinburgh City Archives

Explore your local Council Archives    

Ever dreamed that aliens, famous war heroes and even a walking skeleton visited or even lived in the next street?  Ever wanted to know how people in the past really lived, what they did, what they felt, and how they saw the world around them?  Ever wondered about your local area and the secrets of its past? Your local Council Archives are full of fascinating records and stories for you to discover.  If you’ve never visited your local Council Archive before, you can begin exploring their collections on the Lothian Lives blog.   

The Lothian Lives blog    

The Lothian Lives blog features records and stories taken from the City of Edinburgh, East, Mid and West Lothian Archives. You will find examples of some of the kinds of records you are likely to find at your local Council Archive. Broad themes such as Politics & War, Work & Learning, Faraway Places and Social Conditions are listed in the ‘Learn More’ section of the homepage. In the ‘Discover the Records’ section, you can browse through the different records held by Council Archives. You will also be able to look at a variety of digitally imaged records from your local Council Archives via Flickr. The Lothian Lives blog will be regularly updated with news, featured records and stories.  Feel free to explore, browse, leave comments and return again for news, updates and fresh postings.          

The Project     

The Lothian Lives project is the result of a joint funding bid by Edinburgh City Archives, Midlothian Archives, East Lothian Archives and West Lothian Archives.  Funded by the Scottish Council on Archives, the project is one of the first times four Council Archives have worked together to shed new light on our unique heritage.The project falls under a wider campaign by the National Council on Archives, called Archives Awareness.  The Archives Awareness Campaign has been running for several years, and has provided a successful means for local archives to promote their services through open days, workshops and exhibitions.