Midlothian archives

We hold a large collection of historical records about the local area. Many of the records are unique making the collection invaluable if you are interested in the history and culture of Midlothian, including family history.

Collections

• Council and Town Council records
• Local business records
• Local clubs, societies and organisations
• Local families and individuals
• Eric Basden Collection 
• The Bryce Collection 
• Ernie Tiernan Collection 
• James Abbot Collection 
• Lucas Family, Dalkeith, papers 
• Valuation Rolls 
• William McTaggart Collection
• William Somerville & Sons
• Midlothian Burgh Council 
• Midlothian Cemeteries
• Andrew Fraser Collection
• Black Collection 
• Fala and Soutra Collection 
• David Sharp Collection

Many items about Midlothian are held in other collections in Scotland, especially in the City of Edinburgh archives. You can use the Scottish Archive Network to find these.

Visit the Local and Family History Library in Dalkeith Library.

Before you visit

Please contact us in advance about your enquiry so that we can prepare. Some of the collection is stored offsite, so it can take several days to make some records available.

During your visit

The archive collection is reference only and you may not borrow items.

Using the collections

Archive collections are arranged by collection or series to protect the original order of the records. This means that information on a particular subject may be in more than one part of the collection.