The History of the Archive

The Scottish Catholic Archives (SCA) is the Archive of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland and is responsible for preserving the historical memory of Catholicism in the modern era. The Collection housed in the Archive ranges from Pre-Catholic Emancipation (1829) up to present day.

The Scottish Catholic Archives, at present, occupies Columba House, 16 Drummond Place, in the new town of Edinburgh. The building is a corner pavilion, built in 1819 which was purchased in 1958 by the Bishop Hierarchy of Scotland, to serve as a repository and research centre. Father William James Anderson was the first Keeper of the newly formed Archives. This enabled the Historical Collection of the Church to be brought from St Mary’s College, Blairs to Edinburgh so it could be studied and cared for in one location. The main part of the Historical Collection (now housed at the University of Aberdeen) consists of the 46,000 Blairs Letters (1627-1887).

The period 1958 to 1972 was pivotal in the development of the Archives, as Father Anderson started the process of cataloguing and arranging the Archive, also adding significant collections along the way. The Archive is unique in the way it has drawn the Diocesan and Parish archives into one location, but ownership still lies with the Dioceses and Parishes, as dictated by Canon Law. Scotland has pioneered a system which is being explored by other Catholic Dioceses around the world. This centralisation of the Archive has provided a focal point for local, national, and international enquires. It has facilitated the employment of a qualified Archivist to oversee the care and preservation of the collections held, making them accessible to researchers and the public.

The Historical Collection

In 2013 the Historical Collection moved to the University of Aberdeen, Special Collections, on a 30 year Loan.

The Historical Archives of the Scottish Catholic Archives predominantly relate to the Catholic Church prior to the Restoration of the Scottish Catholic Hierarchy in 1878.

The Collection contains material of regional, national and international significance and provides evidence of the survival of Catholicism both in Scotland and abroad through the archives of its Missions, Seminaries and Colleges.

There are also extensive collections relating to prominent Catholic families, complementing the important family and estate papers held by the Special Collections Centre.

Columba House 

The bulk of the Archive stays in Columba house.  The moving of the Historical Collection to Aberdeen freed up time for the Diocesan and Bishops' conference material to be developed and catalogued. 

The Parish Register project was extended to include all Parishes founded before 1950 this tripled the MP (Missions and Parishes) Collection to over 600.  Comprising of not only Sacramental Registers but, accounts; marriage papers; notice books; bulletins; plans; photographs and lots more. 

We realised that there was a lack of Lay Societies archives in the collection, so we started to collect the records of St Vincent de Paul. These give a great social history into how we supported the poor & destitute in some of the most deprived areas of  Scotland.  We are still actively collecting these records.

The Bishops accepted the Marist Brothers collection into the Archive, widening our understanding of Scottish Catholic Education.  We also hold the the records of Brother Wilfred the founder of Celtic Football Club.  

A New Chapter 

For many years we have known that Columba House was no longer fit for purpose and the decision was made to move the Archive as and when a suitable property became available.  

Columba House had reached capacity, it was impossible to control the environment in the 9 stores.  Several out breaks of mould infestation rendered our biggest store unusable.  Our reference library was moved into off-site storage and some of the collections where moved into the Reading Room.  This reduced how many Readers we could accommodate at one time, which forced us to introduce pre-arranged appointments.  

Orr Street School House was brought to our attention for consideration. This was becoming available as the present tenants where vacating the whole building.  After much consideration of this and other sites, the Bishops decided that Orr Street would be the right move, not only for the Archive but the Bishops' Conference and all its Agencies.  

Orr street was not a natural fit for a modern archive, but the 1900s' building had large rooms that could be retro-fitted to suit the modern requirements for archival care, to the new BS EN 16893 2018 standards, which covers the following hazards; environment (temperature, humidity, light etc.), bio deterioration (pests and mould), theft, vandalism, fire, water, and natural events.  The main store will be of a 'passive' design, using the thermal properties of the ground to keep the store cool and insulating the walls and ceiling to make them airtight, keeping the environment inside the store stable and within acceptable levels, reducing/eliminating the need for mechanical systems to handle air-conditioning.  There may be the need to add a desiccated dehumidifier to help control moisture levels for the first five years or so while the stores settle down.  

The move to Orr Street starts in October 2022 and we hope to have the move completed by the Spring of  2025