Events, Talks and Visits

We host a variety of events, talks and visits, including lectures on historical themes and records, introductory talks on family history, school workshops and visits by groups in further and higher education and evening classes in palaeography. The Dome Seminar Facility in New Register House is used for meetings and conferences.

Online Public Talks

22 July 2021, 2.00-3.00pm

The Curation of the Declaration of Arbroath

Dr Alan Borthwick, Head of Medieval and Early Modern Records, National Records of Scotland

The surviving sealed original of the Declaration of Arbroath has been in the care of the office now called National Records of Scotland (NRS) since 1829, though we can be pretty sure that it was preserved as part of the state papers of Scotland more than 200 years before then. NRS’ Head of Medieval and Early Modern Records, Alan Borthwick, will talk about how NRS staff and their predecessors have cared for the Declaration over the past 200 years. The talk will look at the way archivists and conservators balance the need to preserve the Declaration for posterity, against the great public interest in being able to view such an iconic document: a particular challenge for NRS as its buildings were developed for archive storage and public search room access to archive collections, meaning that there is not currently a dedicated exhibition space.

Book online here: The Curation of the Declaration of Arbroath Tickets, Thu 22 Jul 2021 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

Public events postponed

Following the advice from the UK and Scottish Government to help delay the spread of Covid-19/Coronavirus, we have now postponed all of our scheduled in-person public events until further notice. We hope to reschedule these events for a future date but our top priority at this time is public safety and the wellbeing of staff. 

Further updates will be available on this page. You can also keep up to date via Twitter @NatRecordsScot. If you would like further information, please refer to the NHS Coronavirus guidance. 

If you have any enquiries about our services, please contact: [email protected].

Services for Schools

Our Services for Schools are designed to support the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and National Qualifications in the form of workshops and online resources for Scottish primary and secondary schools.

Evening Class

Archivists from the NRS run evening classes in palaeography on behalf of the University of Edinburgh's Office of Lifelong Learning. This practical course in Scottish Handwriting covering the period 1500-1700 takes place at General Register House.

New Register House Dome Seminar Facility

The New Register House Dome is a unique venue, purpose-built to house the Scottish birth, death and marriage records dating back to 1553. The Dome Seminar Facility is used for meetings and conferences.