Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire Archives collects and preserves the historical records of North Lanarkshire, covering the areas of Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Motherwell, Shotts, Stepps and Wishaw.

Visit the archives to research your family history, the history of your house or your local area. We also welcome enquiries by telephone, e-mail and letter. We are situated in North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre, High Road, Motherwell, just a short walk from Motherwell Railway Station.

South Lanarkshire Archives

The Archives and Information Management Service, based at the South Lanarkshire Council Archives and Records Centre, is responsible for the selection and preservation of records and archives relating to the South Lanarkshire area. 

We select and preserve the records of Council and the local authorities that existed before South Lanarkshire came into being.  We also preserve the records of local organisations, businesses and individuals.

NOTE:  There has been some discussion relating to records indicating that Lanarkshire Barony incorporated both North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire between 1672 and 1854.  So if you're looking for records from that time period be sure and look in both the North and South Lanarkshire archives.

A wide range of illustrated histories and books of old photographs of a variety of Scottish towns and Glasgow districts have been published in recent years by Richard Stenlake Publishing

The names of some Cemeteries in Glasgow, some in North Lanarkshire and some in South Lanarkshire.

General advice on census records and indexes can be found on our Scotland Census page.

In the Lanarkshire area microfilm copies can be consulted at a number of locations in Glasgow and at a number of local libraries.

The church has, over the centuries, exercised a great influence in the development of Scotland and its people. But this "influence" has been a two-way process, where the people have also had their say in a manner which reflects something basic about the Scottish people - always compassionate yet often at odds with each other. The church (and others areas such as education and the law) is an area where the cultural difference between Scotland and England can easily be seen, with the national "established" church - the Church of Scotland - being presbyterian in form of government. This does not, however, mean that all presbyterians belong to the national church.

The rights of the people are important in Scotland where, in theory at least, the people and not parliament are sovereign. The people have also stood their ground, in the days of the Covenanters, to ensure that government of their national church was controlled by the people and their clergy and not by the aristocracy of the country. The Covenanters were strong in the Lanarkshire area and often suffered for their beliefs and rights, including in the Battle of Bothwell Bridge.

The Kirk Session is the governing body of a Presbyterian church and consists of the minister of the parish and the ordained elders of the congregation. It looks after the general spiritual wellbeing of the congregation and, particularly in centuries past, parochial discipline. Kirk Sessions meet on a regular basis with additional meetings at other times, including Communion, and each of these meetings is carefully minuted. Most Church of Scotland Kirk Session records are held in the Scottish Record Office in Edinburgh and can be fascinating reading. Records for churches within the Presbytery of Glasgow are kept in the Glasgow Archives.

Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in Scotland on 1st January 1855. For details of these and other records held and available for search at the General Register Office in Edinburgh.

For the old "Strathclyde Region" area (which included Lanarkshire) facilities exist in Glasgow to search and view some of these records on computer index and microfiche.

An Analytical Index to the Lanarkshire Statutory Registers of Death for the years 1855 and 1856 are commercially available on microfiche from wayne.mckirdy[at]paradise.net[dot]nz

Records of testaments, inventories etc. are held at the National Records of Scotland.

• Geograph
• Flickr

The description of Lanarkshire from Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, 1896.

The modern Gazetteer for Scotland provides comprehensive information on both old and modern-day Scotland. Take some time to fully explore its features in depth.

Useful sources for genealogical research can be found throughout Lanarkshire. Some local libraries have family history research resources specific to their area

A wide range of resources can be found in the City of Glasgow.

• Rolls of Honour and War Memorials (monuments) are one good resource for family historians, but need to be addressed with some caution - it should not be assumed that they are either complete or accurate. Memorials (and Rolls of Honour) were created at the local parish level after asking the local inhabitants whose names should appear. Thus:
  
  - Some names may have been omitted, for a variety of reasons.
  - Some names may appear on more than one memorial.
  - Some names may be misspelled, or given names transposed.
  - Some people may be listed as killed in action, but were not.
  - Some people may be listed who were not in the service at all.
  - Some people may have been confused with others of a similar name.
  
  - A Roll of Honour may sometimes list the names of all who served, not just those who died.
  - Some of the original records may have been incorrect, for a variety of reasons.
  - Some (more recent) research may be incorrect.
• View a list of the Rolls of Honour for Lanarkshire.