As a result of planned roadworks happening on Glasgow Street, Galloway Street and Laurieknowe between 9th and 11th of November, we have decided to close the Centre on Tuesday 10th. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.
“A book for local, social and Scottish historians, interested Stewartry and Borgue people, Sproat folk and their relatives, and discerning readers”
The promised 262-page A4 book, ‘Eighty Letters to Canada’ is hot off the printing presses and is now available in the UK. This limited print run of books is being distributed by John Sproat of Glenlochar, Castle Douglas. His cousin and co-author Paul Sproat in Ontario is having the identical book printed and distributed independently in Canada.
These letters, stored lovingly in a box in a Toronto flat for 200 years but rarely looked at over that time, have now been transcribed. They tell an extensive, interesting and diverse story of the first half of the Nineteenth Century, and one that covers anything from the state of agriculture in Galloway to tales of colonial emigration, from life on record-breaking ocean-going clippers to gossip from Borgue, and from famine and insurrection in Ireland to life in Canada and Australia, and much about families of the Stewartry.
Paul and John have spent over ten years researching the letters and have written appendices with full historical backgrounds.
The cost is £17.00 per book. The price of the book only covers the cost of printing, and doesn’t include any profit, or any author’s mark-up. Cousins Paul and John have published this book not for profit, but for the enjoyment, the challenge, and to keep Sproat, Corrie and Borgue history alive.
To order please contact: [email protected]
We have now issued our October 2026 Publication List on our Downloads page to reflect this increase.
We have updated our schedule for early 2026 and the full list is available at https://dgfhs.org.uk/syllabus/
You do need to re-register for our 2026 talks so please send an email to [email protected] with your details including Location and Membership Number. You will be added to our “repeat” listing unless you say otherwise. If you do not have your membership number then please email either the UK Membership Secretary at [email protected] or the Overseas Membership Secretary at [email protected] who will be able to provide it to you.
As part of this year’s Hawick Reivers Festival, Scottish Borders Archive would like to invite you to an informal pop-in session, introducing all that the archive can offer. Our collections tell stories right across the Scottish Borders, with records dating from the 12th century to modern day, helping you to unlock your own history.
Scottish Borders Archive @ The Heritage Hub, Hawick
Friday 27 March 2026
1pm-4pm no booking required
Free – donations welcome
For more information visit our page at https://www.liveborders.org.uk/borders-collection-online/heritage-hub-archives-local-studies/
We have now issued our October 2025 Publication List which includes the 1841 Census and the Order Form.
The Publication List is available on the Downloads page of the RESOURCES menu. If you are ordering by Mail Order please ensure you are using this latest Publication List and Order Form.
However, our Online Shop is available for the purchase of over 400 PDFs and Printed versions of our publications and Newsletters, which you can pay for them using PayPal or Credit/Debit Card.
The ScotlandsPlaces website is being switched off on 24th June. The various records being shared by different organisations. See the Scotlandsplaces website for more information.
HES material can be found on trove.scot.
NLS material can be found at nls.uk and maps.nls.uk.
NRS records will be accessible through scotlandspeople.gov.uk.
Further information about the closure can be found on the HES website: Retiral of HES web services | Historic Environment Scotland.
Subsequently ScotlandsPeople have now announced on their website regarding the records they are taking over
https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/news-and-articles/more-records-coming
Records will be transferred on a phased basis. The OS name books and tax rolls will be available from 25 June.
Images of maps and plans from the National Records of Scotland collection, currently available on ScotlandsPlaces, will be added to Scotland’s People later in the year.
For the first time on Scotland’s People, images of some original records will be available to view alongside a transcript of the text.
Records can be searched and viewed free of charge. There will be a small charge to save copies. Additionally, we have created a new name index of male and female servant tax rolls, for which there will be a small charge to view records.
