Aberdeen County Council

ASActy/1 Aberdeen County Council: Minutes

ASActy/2 Aberdeen County Council: District Committees and Councils

ASActy/3 Aberdeen County Council: Administrative

ASActy/4 Aberdeen County Council: Finance

ASActy/5 Aberdeen County Council: Education

ASActy/6 Aberdeen County Council: Public Assistance

ASActy/7 Aberdeen County Council: Housing

ASActy/8 Aberdeen County Council: Special Districts

ASActy/9 Aberdeen County Council: Planning

ASActy/10 Aberdeen County Council: Public Health

ASActy/11 Aberdeen County Council: Civil Defence

ASActy/12 Aberdeen County Council: Miscellaneous Series of Records

ASActy/13 Aberdeen County Council: Roads

County councils were elected bodies established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict., c. 50). They inherited almost all the functions of commissioners of supply, and those of county road trusts and local authorities set up under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Acts. They also took over some administrative powers from the justices of the peace, but not their licensing or judicial functions. The responsibilities of the commissioners of supply for police matters were transferred to standing joint committees made up of commissioners of supply and county councillors.

County councils were required to appoint full-time county medical officers of health and sanitary inspectors, and the local public health functions of parochial boards in landward areas were transferred to district committees of the county councils.

Aberdeen County Council covered the districts of Aberdeen, Alford, Deer, Deeside, Ellon, Garioch, Huntly and Turriff, containing 82 civil parishes.

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo. V, c. 25) abolished district committees, standing joint committees, commissioners of supply, parish councils, education authorities and other bodies, and transferred all or most of their functions to county councils.

The main impact was in the areas of the poor law and education. County councils were now responsible for education everywhere except in the four counties of cities, and for the poor law and public health except in the counties of cities and large burghs.

The act also required the councils to prepare a scheme for coverage of their areas by district councils which might have certain functions delegated to them by the county council.

County councils were abolished in 1975 under the terms of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, c.65. Their powers were transferred to regional, islands and district councils.

Aberdeen County Council's successors were Grampian Regional Council, and the councils of the districts into which the Region was divided.

Chairmen of the County Council

Alexander Morison Gordon of Newton (1890 - 1910)

Garden A. Duff (1910 - 1919)

Henry D. McCombie (1919 - 1928)

Right Hon The Earl of Caithness (1928 - 1942)

Dr Charles W. Sleigh CBE LLD (1942 - 1945)

Dr James Cruikshank (1945 - 1949)

Frederick Martin CBE DL (1949 - 1950)

Sir Alan McLean MBE DL of Alford (1950 - 1955)

Sir R.I.A. Forbes-Leith Bart. MBE DL JP of Fyvie Castle (1955 - 1958)

John A. Dickie of Peterhead (1958 - 1961)

Rev. P. Craik MacQuoid of Turriff (1961 - 1970)

Maitland Mackie (1970 - 1975)

Open

Please see the Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives catalogue at https://archives.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CalmView/

Collection fully catalogued in 2020/2021 using the ASActy reference. Sections of the collection had previously been catalogued using the references AS/Acty (part of an artificial collection comprising all of Aberdeenshire Council's predecessor authorities) and AC (the referencing system used by the SRO to cover Aberdeen County's records). These former references have been included in the Alt Ref field. Other, previously uncatalogued material was incorporated into the collection in 2020/21.

The following Aberdeen County accessions are currently uncatalogued:

Acc 131 and 619: Aberdeen County Council / Grampian Regional Council / Aberdeenshire Council Roads Department files

Acc 156: Aberdeen County Council indexes to planning applications

Acc 186: Aberdeen County Council Architect's Department photographs and slides

Acc 191: Aberdeen County Council / Banff and Buchan District Council Milk Officer's files

Acc 564: Aberdeenshire Education Authority / Aberdeen County Education Committee scrapbooks, 1928 - 1935; Aberdeen County Education Committee files and accounts re libraries, 1950s - 1970s; Aberdeen County Council Public Assistance Department file re rest centres, 1941 - 1945;

Acc 594: Records of Kincardine and Deeside District Council and Deeside District Council Torphins Sub-Committee

Acc 1116: Aberdeen County Council planning case files relating to the development of Aberdeen Airport at Dyce, Pitmedden, Stoneywood and Farburn industrial estates and developments at Bucksburn.

Acc 1454: Newspaper Cuttings Book for the Aberdeen County Youth & Community Service

Acc 1876: Aberdeen County and Gordon District Environmental Planning and Development records

Acc 2640: Aberdeen County Library Service Files

Acc 3127: Aberdeen County files on school maintenance and closures

See also DD186

Records of Aberdeen County Council Medical and Health papers were transferred to the NHS Grampian Archives: these include District Nursing Association records (files relating mainly to transfer of funds), 1932 - 1963; tuberculosis registers (notification of TB, TB deaths), 1916 - 1974; Annual reports - Medical Officer of Health, 1891-1958, School Medical Officer, 1910 - 1924, Tuberculosis Medical Officer , 1914-1924; registers of infectious diseases (notifications, statistics, etc.), 1918 - 1962; registers of notifications of births, 1936 - 1974.

Details of these records can be seen in the University of Aberdeen Special Collections Centre catalogue at https://calm.abdn.ac.uk/archives under reference GRHB E2.

The National Records of Scotland hold the following records relating to Aberdeen County:

CO6/2/1 Committee in pursuance of Sheriff Court House Act 1860: Minute Book 1861

CO6/2/2 Local Authority under Cattle Disease Prevention Act, 1866: Minute Book 1866-1872

CO6/2/3 Finance Committee: Minute Book 1872-1873

CO6/3/1 Register of Mortgages, Assignations in Security, Transfers, Discharges etc. under the Authority of the Aberdeen County Records and Public Offices Act, 1851 and the Commissioners Clauses Act, 1847 1852-1862

CO6/3/2 Aberdeen County and Municipal Buildings Act, 1866. Clerk's Accounts 1865-1874

CO6/5/1 Lieutenancy Letter Book 1798-1803

CO6/5/2 Lieutenancy Letter Book 1803-1808

CO6/5/3 Lieutenancy Letter Book 1804-1808

CO6/5/4 Lieutenancy Letter Book 1860-1863

CO6/5/5 Aberdeen Volunteers. Order Book 1795-1802

CO6/5/6 Volume containing Lists of names under parishes showing name, rank or occupation and place of abode 1800

CO6/8/1 Trustees for Turnpike Roads: Echt and Midmar Road 1846-1865

CO6/12/1 Account Book of Road Money 1830-1838

CO6/100/1 Law Agent's Journal and Ledger: John Burnett of Elrick 1791-1798

CO6/100/2 Law Agent's Ledger (includes accounts of Commissioners of Supply, Militia, Road Trustees, Bridewell Commissioners etc. as well as those of private clients) 1803-c 1809

CO6/100/3 Law Agent's Ledger (includes accounts of Commissioners of Supply, Militia, Road Trustees, Bridewell Commissioners etc. as well as those of private clients) 1808-c 1820

CO6/100/4 Law Agent's Letter Book 1822-1823

CO6/100/5 Aberdeen Public Rooms: Subscribers' Minute Book 1818-1856

CO6/100/6 Cruden Estate: Tenants' Ledger 1822-c 1836

CO6/100/7 Skelmuir, parish of Old Deer, and Ellon Estates: Rentals and Collection Lists 1858-1873