Church records in Glasgow City Archives

Irene O'Brien, Glasgow City Archives

(First published in Dunaskin News, November 2003)

Glasgow City Archives is the centre for church records within the west of Scotland and is the official archives repository for many of the church denominations. These archives are a rich source not only for church and social historians; they are also a vital tool of the family historians. They include records of many of the major denominations, date from the 16th to the 20th centuries, and cover an area which is much wider than Glasgow.

The City Archives holds the archives for Glasgow Presbytery and its constituent kirk sessions. These include records not only of the Church of Scotland, but also the large number of seceding churches which previously split from the established church from the 18th to the 19th centuries, before reuniting with it in the 20th century.

The records include the minutes of the Presbytery which heard more serious cases of discipline; cases on appeal from the session; and cases involving persons of a high social status. They also ordained ministers and were responsible for overseeing the appointment of parish school masters.

The kirk session registers of the various parishes may include minutes; registers of baptism, marriage and burial; and various membership registers, such as communion rolls. Kirk sessions were responsible for supervising the spiritual life of the parish and the earlier registers in particular provide an insight into the social control exercised by the church. For family historians their importance lies in their role in the enforcement of discipline against their ancestors for any breaches in moral conduct such as: drunkenness and public disorder; adultery; slander or scandalous words; breach of Sabbath and fornication. The pages are full of cases of irregular marriages and illegitimate children. Of major interest are the registers of baptism - and occasionally marriage and burial registers - for the seceding churches, which may date prior to the introduction of civil registration in 1855. The Old Parish Registers (OPRs) which are one of the prime resources of the family historian are exclusively the registers of the established church and consequently exclude the large number of Scots who were members of dissenting churches.

The City Archives is also the approved repository for the records of the Episcopal Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. These include the administrative records of the Diocese itself but also the records of a number of churches, mainly from Glasgow and its immediate surroundings. As is the case with the presbyterian dissenting churches, these also include baptismal, marriage and other records for before 1855, which supplement the OPRs. Among them are the archives of St Andrews-by-the-Green which have baptismal and other registers dating from the 18th century, and which baptised large numbers of Irish, troops, and residents of other parishes.

The Archives hold the archives from many of other denominations. These include records of the Evangelical Union and Congregational Churches from throughout Scotland. There are also a number of archives for Methodists churches and of a major Baptist church. With the exception of Catholic and Jewish Churches who hold their own archives, you should contact Glasgow City Archives if you wish to use or deposit church records.

For more information on the Church records at Glasgow City Archives contact them via their website at http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Library_Services/The_Mitchell/Archives/churcharchives.htm