Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives

Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives is the gateway to the written history of the North East of Scotland.

We collect, preserve and make publicly available the historical records belonging to Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils

🧐 Check out our most recent blog by guest blogger Dr. Amy Blakeway, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of St. ...
12/06/2026

🧐 Check out our most recent blog by guest blogger Dr. Amy Blakeway, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of St. Andrews. Amy writes about Aberdeen in the 1540s, when Scotland was suffering due to war with England, rioting and the plague, as well as the fascinating exhibition "War, Destruction and Reform: The Early Years of Mary Queen of Scots", which is on now at the Wardlaw Museum in St. Andrews, One of our Aberdeen Council Burgh Registers is on display as part of the exhibition 🌟

🔗 https://aberdeenarchives.blogspot.com/2026/06/our-contribution-to-war-destruction-and.html

🔗 https://mary-queen-of-scots.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

(Image of council registers)

On Tuesday we celebrated International Archives Day as part of the wider International Archives Week, the theme of which...
12/06/2026

On Tuesday we celebrated International Archives Day as part of the wider International Archives Week, the theme of which is : Rights, Memory & Futures. That there has been a culture of good record keeping in Aberdeen over the centuries is one of the principle reasons why the collection of older burgh material now housed in the Charter Room at the Town House has survived as long as it has. The records were never simply historical curiosities, however: these were, and in many cases still are, working documents required as evidence for the burgh to conduct its business or to prove ownership of land. The collections are also the corporate memory of both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils 🥰

[Image of CA/3/A1/1 - Aberdeen City: Charter granted by William I granting Free Guild to burgesses of Aberdeen, Moray, and north of the Mounth c. 1179]

We found this interesting advertisement for "The Milkmaid" diner at 347 Union Street. Did you ever go after a show, for ...
11/06/2026

We found this interesting advertisement for "The Milkmaid" diner at 347 Union Street. Did you ever go after a show, for 'a glass of goodness'?

Also shown is an image of the frontage of the restaurant c. 1963.

[DD3377 and Acc3199, from Aberdeen City Council's Planning Department Photo Survey]

🎊 Today we are celebrating International Archives Day 🎉 All around the world, archival community professionals join toge...
09/06/2026

🎊 Today we are celebrating International Archives Day 🎉 All around the world, archival community professionals join together to explain to the world why supporting archives and the profession is so important.

Our service takes pride in our collections for both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils. We collect, preserve and provide access to historical records relating to the North East of Scotland, and secure significant modern records for future generations. The hundreds of thousands of original documents held by our service, spanning 1179 to the present day, are a wonderfully tangible connection with the history of the North East of Scotland ✨

🔗 https://www.ica.org/international-archives-week/about-international-archives-week/

(Images of Archive staff members, volunteers and visitors at Tall Ships event)




On the 7th-8th June in 1918, the vessel Hogarth was torpedoed and sunk. On board was Alexander Smart, Mate, who was born...
08/06/2026

On the 7th-8th June in 1918, the vessel Hogarth was torpedoed and sunk. On board was Alexander Smart, Mate, who was born in Macduff and lived in Aberdeen. We received some records from Alexander's great granddaughter, including the certificate of death for Alexander and his certificate for services during the war. Also included was a letter to his wife, explaining from another victim's point of view, the horrible disaster that befell her husband.

(Reference Acc3639)

Our colleagues in the Art Gallery & Museums team also hold some records related to the Hogarth, which was built by Hall Russell and registered in Aberdeen:
🔗 https://emuseum.aberdeencity.gov.uk/objects/100950/hogarth?ctx=c671ce5ee237bac4b86934cb2ba8b1482434ccbb&idx=0

✨ To conclude our celebration of the work our volunteers do with our Archives team, here is a document that our voluntee...
07/06/2026

✨ To conclude our celebration of the work our volunteers do with our Archives team, here is a document that our volunteer Jane located while bundle listing 🤓

It is a document for Dr William Dyce purchasing land on Marischal Street and agreeing to build a house of stone and lime on the said land. His son, renowned artist William Dyce, was born in that house, no. 48 Marischal Street. He studied medicine and theology at Marischal College in Aberdeen and, after artistic training at the Royal Academy Schools in London, became a successful painter throughout Britain during the 1840s. There are many pieces of his work in the Art Gallery & Museums collection, as well as a plaque dedicated to him on the wall of no. 48:

🎨 https://emuseum.aberdeencity.gov.uk/sites/203/plaque037.

Our volunteers complete bundle listing tasks to create more detailed archive catalogues and improve collections' information 🥰

Will you be attending Stonehaven's 51st Annual Feein' Market today??🔗 http://www.feeinmarket.org.uk/Our service holds a ...
06/06/2026

Will you be attending Stonehaven's 51st Annual Feein' Market today??

🔗 http://www.feeinmarket.org.uk/

Our service holds a wonderful farmer's account book, which provides a written record of feeing in Aberdeenshire, something that was very rare! Most feeing contracts were agreed verbally.

You can see the catalogue entry for the diary here: https://archives.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=PD5&pos=1. View it in person by making an appointment to visit our search room!

(Reference PD5)

It’s a sunny, summer afternoon and you fancy a walk, when a deliciously intoxicating scent permeates your nostrils 👃🏼 Su...
05/06/2026

It’s a sunny, summer afternoon and you fancy a walk, when a deliciously intoxicating scent permeates your nostrils 👃🏼 Suddenly, you find yourself floating through the air like a cartoon character, following the smell of an old favourite…

FISH & CHIPS!!!

Check out these two building warrants for illuminated signs for fish and chip shops in Aberdeen. As if a chipper isn’t alluring enough, these sign would definitely catch our attention 🤤

Happy National Fish & Chips Day 🐟🍟

(Reference: CA/10/5/172 & 376)

&Chips

Sometimes our volunteers assist us with digitisation work. We have a small flat bed scanner in our volunteer workroom, w...
05/06/2026

Sometimes our volunteers assist us with digitisation work. We have a small flat bed scanner in our volunteer workroom, which our volunteer Ian used to scan Aberdeen Harbour Board images for our 'Before the Boom' digital exhibition ⛵

We were very grateful for Ian's hard work on this project, especially as scanning can become a bit repetitive 😆

You can view the digital exhibition here:
🔗 https://beforetheboomaberdeen.wordpress.com/

[Image reference AHB/11/3/5/13]



This pocket book is a members card for Ballater Cycling Club, c. 1896. It includes road rules as well as rules for the c...
03/06/2026

This pocket book is a members card for Ballater Cycling Club, c. 1896. It includes road rules as well as rules for the club! 🚵‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴🚵

(Reference DD3353/D/4)

Address

Town House, Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB101AQ

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm

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