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Two new public search rooms will be created. Other benefits of the new Scottish
Family History Service will be enhanced facilities for visitors, exhibition and retail spaces, and improved disabled access. Online and other facilities will be integrated to provide an enhanced service to family
historians. |
An integrated Scottish family history
service centre is being prepared for genealogy researchers in Edinburgh. It will offer the Scottish family
history research resources currently offered separately by General Register Office for Scotland,
the National Archives of Scotland and Court of the Lord Lyon
The launch of the £1.6 million Scottish Family History
Service project was announced by the Scottish Executive in December 2002 and
the work on conversion to the unified family history campus was started on site
in mid-July 2005. It is due to be
completed by April 2007. However it is expected
that integrated search facilities will be available from November 2006.
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Deputy Justice Minister
for Scotland , Hugh Henry said
"I am delighted to unveil the plans for this extremely innovative and valuable project. These plans mark an important milestone in the development of a fully integrated Scottish Family History Centre at the
Register House complex."
"We have two landmark buildings here which are architectural treasures, but at present the public cant properly enjoy them. This project will change all that."
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The plans aim to create
a centre of excellence, exploiting the prime location of these
buildings and making them a tourist attraction in their own right. Key
benefits:
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Creation of two new
search rooms
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Improved disabled
access
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Seminar and
exhibition space
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Retail space and
reception area
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New entrance at
east of new Register House
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Enhanced facilities
for all users
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The National Archives of Scotland's headquarters, General Register House, is one of the oldest custom built
Government archive buildings still in continuous use in the world.
In the mid-1700's the need to provide accommodation for the national archives was widely
recognised. In 1765 a grant of £12,000 was obtained to carry out the work and a site was chosen fronting the end of the North Bridge then under construction. The eminent architect Robert Adam and his brother James were selected for the project.
Robert Adam died suddenly in 1792 before his building was complete. The architect Robert Reid finished the
design, including the interior in the 1820s.
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The plans have been developed in consultation with Historic Scotland as both buildings have grade A listed status.
At present, the main records which individuals use as the basis for their family history are held by three separate institutions:
* General Register Office for Scotland (GROS)
* National Archives of Scotland (NAS)
* Court of the Lord Lyon
They occupy two buildings General Register House and New Register House which lie in close proximity at the East End of Princes Street in Edinburgh.
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The Scottish Family History Service will build on work already begun by the partners in creating digital images of their records, and online versions of indexes and catalogues.
It will enable staff to give a fuller, more tailored service to genealogists to provide enhanced exhibition facilities, and to exploit more fully the visitor potential of the landmark Register House buildings.
The main objective of the project is to create a Scottish family history centre at the Register House campus
in Edinburgh that is
fully integrated behind the scenes and seamless to the customer who visits
or calls.
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The New Register House site was acquired in 1859. The building was first occupied in 1861 and completed in 1863. The main feature of this building is the fireproof central repository, the Dome, which consists of five tiers of ironwork shelving and galleries totalling over 27 metres high.
The Dome contains 6.5km of shelving upon which sit some half a million volumes. These include some 400,000 statutory registers of all the births, deaths and marriages in Scotland since 1855 and open Census records from 1841 to 1891.
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Not able to visit
Edinburgh soon? Don't worry. We are here now at Scot-Roots to offer you a first class
family history research service.
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