Town Clerk's Department

Inventories of the City Archives, 1696-1965; Chartularies, 1760-1920; Title Deeds, Contracts and Miscellaneous Administrative Papers, 1550-1934; Registers of Mortgages and Transfers, 1852-1900; Searches of Incumbrances & Surveys of Properties, 1822-1955; General Administration, 1475-1982; Departmental Reports and Prints, 1818-1974; Committee Papers, 1833-1967 ; Town Clerk's Fee Fund, 1873-1939; Minor Trust Records, 1613-1961; Transferred Records, 1817-1965; Militia and City Guard, 1790-1816; Maps & Plans, c1565-1973 ; Reports, Prints, Acts, Etc., 1693-1973; Presscutting Books, 1833-1973; Town Clerk's Private Papers, c1606-1923; Establishment Division, 1925-1970; Council Officer's Section, undated; Raising of Glasgow Regiments, 1914-1915; Transcripts of Inquiries, 1968-1970; Storm Damage Papers, 1968-1973; Planning Section, undated.

D-TC/1. Inventories of City Records.

D-TC/2. Chartularies.

D-TC/3. Title Deeds of Corporation properties; Contracts.

D-TC/4. Registers of Mortgages and transfers.

D-TC/5. Searches and Surveys.

D-TC/6. General Administration.

D-TC/7. Departmental Reports and Prints.

D-TC/8. Committee Papers.

D-TC/9. Fee Fund Accounts.

D-TC/10. Minor Trusts Records.

D-TC/11. Transferred Records, eg. Botanic Gardens, Blind Asylum, Free Import of Canadian Cattle Assoc., Glasgow International Exhibition Assoc., (see also Group F). Committee on Scottish Licensing Law.

D-TC/12. Militia and City Guard Records.

D-TC/13. Maps and Plans. Calendar.

D-TC/14. 'Miscellaneous Prints'; Reports (other than Departmental and Committee, q.v.): Acts of Parliament; Blue Books.

D-TC/15. Newscutting Books.

D-TC/16. Town Clerk's private papers.

D-TC/17. Establishment Section.

D-TC/18. Council Officer's Section.

D-TC/19. Raising of Glasgow Regiments of Volunteers.

D-TC/20. Compulsory Purchase Orders.

D-TC/21. Storm Damage.

D-TC/22. Planning Section.

The office of town clerk does not emerge clearly until the survival of protocol books, council minutes and court books in the 16th century. At that date their main functions were legal and secretarial. They enjoyed a monopoly of conveyancing within the town and from 1694 kept the burgh register of sasines. The office greatly expanded during the 19th century, but the town clerks were already emerging as ‘chief executives’ of the council before 1800, although that term was not to be used before 1975. Among many other miscellaneous responsibilities, they kept the records of the burgh.

The earliest inventory of the city records dates from 1696, with later additions, and lists the burgh charters, titles to city properties and important law papers then held in the archives in the Tolbooth. The contents of this and later inventories are still stored in the same order, but a number of them, including the earliest burgh charters, are now missing. The main series of burgh titles remain in the Conveyancing Section of the successor to the originating department, but substantial quantities of surplus titles have been transmitted to the Archives.

Open

Access restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives for further information.

Inventories of writs (in some cases only microfilms of originals in the Department of the Chief Executive) and related records, 1696-1965; the following are stated in the paper catalogue as held at the council's Conveyancing Section: D-TC2/1-13, D-TC2/15-25, D-TC4/1-12, D-TC5/1/1, and D-TC5/2-3.

Application for reproduction should be made to the Archivist