Kirk Session records to be made available on ScotlandsPeople within months

[TunjiLees]

This hasn't been officially announced yet, but I contacted ScotlandsPeople to ask when they would be releasing their kirk session records online and got this response:

Dear Tunji

Thank you for your email regarding kirk session records.

The part of the website that will make the kirk session (and other court) records available is under active development at the moment.

The coronavirus lockdown has hampered us a little, as no National Records of Scotland buildings are open, but we're managing to continue development work remotely. I hope it will be only a mater of a few months before the first few thousand volumes of kirk session and presbytery records appear. The first release will be minute books and accounts of Church of Scotland kirk sessions and presbyteries from 1560 to about 1860.

Yours sincerely

Robin Urquhart
Archivist
National Records of Scotland

[Gadget]

Well, I'll believe it when I see them as they've been saying something like that for quite a few years.


Sceptical Gadget

[TunjiLees]

Yes I remember them talking about it about 10 years ago and saying they will be online within a year or two. Now they are saying within a few months, so hopefully that means sometime this year!

[Crumblie]

At least Scotland is spending money on their records and making them available online, I wish the GRO would do the same thing.

[Gadget]

I think the main problem was how to index them.  I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Crumblie - GRO do not have any parish records - many of which are on line via one or other sites and  we will have to pay to access them, just as we have to pay  for access to Eng & Wales parish records. You're not comparing like with like.

Gadget

[Crumblie]

Crumblie - GRO do not have any parish records - many of which are on line via one or other sites and  we will have to pay to access them, just as we have to pay  for access to Eng & Wales parish records. You're not comparing like with like.

Gadget

You are right I did not actually mean parish records, I wish the GRO would make BMD records available online. If Scotland can do it there is no reason why England & Wales cannot apart from the expense involved of course.

[Gadget]

 I think they started but the costs were too high. There is a thread (or threads) on here about it. I'm sure Guy will know.

[Gadget]

On a personal level, I would love for them to go online and then I maybe able to trace my  4 x greats parentage.

[Forfarian]

I wish the GRO would make BMD records available online. If Scotland can do it there is no reason why England & Wales cannot apart from the expense involved of course.

Don't we all!

You can get some English and Welsh certificates in digital form from GRO, but not instantly, and at £6 a time they cost 4 times as much as Scottish ones. Even though the information they contain is not as good.