| Administrative History | The Council Registers record the meetings of Council in sitting as well as the proceedings of the Baillie and Guild Courts.
Dating from 1398, they are the most complete series of Scottish burgh minutes preserved. Prior to the sixteenth century most of the proceedings were entered in Latin and were hand-written until the institution of printed minutes in 1883.
Elections were held annually, traditionally on or around the 29th of September, the ancient feast day of Michaelmas. Thirteen burgesses were elected to sit on the new Council alongside four representatives from the old Council and two trades councillors.
While the exact composition of the Council varied over the years, throughout the period 1800 to 1828 the following office bearers were jointly appointed by out-going and in-coming Council members; provost, four baillies, dean of guild, treasurer, shoremaster, master of kirk and bridgeworks, master of mortifications, and master of the guild brethren's hospital.
Many of the duties performed by the magistrates can be traced to an earlier period in the City's history such as the Riding of the Town's Inner and Outer Marches. In the early-nineteenth century the Council's other obligations included inspecting the bridges over the Rivers Dee and Don, visiting the Grammar School, allocating bursaries and electing representatives to attend the Convention of Royal Burghs and the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In addition, the Council was responsible for distributing monies from the Town's Poor's Fund and raising taxes locally.
The Town Council's continuing commitment to improving Aberdeen's communications is evident in the Council Register from 1800 to 1806, which contains resolutions to undertake further harbour improvements and to construct new turnpike roads into the city.
The minutes also reveal the Council's keen protection of their legal rights: considerable time was spent noting instances of illegal use of their land or of the Town's water. This assertive attitude is particularly evident in the 1800 to 1801 Council which insisted on payment of compositions by feuars of Council property and inflated the level of entry compositions to the Guildry.
So far volumes 68 to 71 have been calendered, covering the period 1800 to 1828; for every item raised at a Council meeting, a detailed summary is available.
All personal and place-names have been included to provide a comprehensive index to the people and places mentioned in each register. While forenames and occupations have been modernised and their spellings standardised, all surnames and placenames have been rendered as they appear in the registers. |