Records of Messrs MacDonald and Partners, land surveyors, Aberdeen

An extensive collection of business papers amassed by Messrs MacDonald and Partners, and their predecessors (originally Beattie; later Walker and Beattie; later Walker and Duncan), in the course of their duties as estate factors and land surveyors in Aberdeen and the north of Scotland, 1732 - 1952. The collection includes surveyors' and valuators' reports; particulars of sales of properties; miscellaneous legal and estate papers; factorial accounts; leases and rentals; company reports; minutes; copies of local and private Bills, Acts and Provisional Orders, Petitions, etc.; together with miscellaneous papers and pamphlets connected with the business of the firm and the personal activities of its partners. The reports and valuations concern estates, farms, districts, towns and villages throughout Scotland, but particularly Aberdeen City and County, and the historic counties of Kincardineshire, Banffshire, Moray and Nairn, Angus and Perthshire. The bulk of the material relates to Aberdeen City (26 boxes) and county (68 boxes). Of this, 18 boxes relate to the City of Aberdeen Land Association, c 1805 - 1920; 4 boxes relate to Ballogie estate, 1736 - 1942; 2 boxes to Cromar estate (then belonging to Lord Aberdeen), 1732 - 1919; 3 boxes to Blelack and Deskrie estates, 1858 - 1925; 4 boxes to Haddo House estate (belonging to Lord Aberdeen), 1865 - 1919; 1 box to Parkhill estate (including Dyce and Pitlurg), 1857 - 1927; 1 box to fisheries, 1834 - 1947; and 2 boxes to the Espuela Land and Cattle Company Ltd. and to the Espuela Syndicate (a company with Aberdeen connections, concerned with ranch and land in Texas), 1884 - 1912. The material deposited dates from 1732 - 1952, but the bulk concerns the latter half of the 19th and first decade of the 20th centuries.

Messrs MacDonald and Partners, land surveyors, Aberdeen, took over the firm of Walker and Duncan, land surveyors, Aberdeen, prior to 1961.

Papers are arranged alphabetically by historic county, and by name of estate therein.

Open, subject to signature accepting conditions of use at reader registration sheet

Deposited in the University in 1961, by Messrs MacDonald and Partners, land surveyors, Aberdeen. The material was sorted and arranged by Professor A.G. O'Dell, Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen, prior to deposit.

Interim finding aid available in the Reading Room, Special Libraries and Archives.

Very brief collection level description available on Aberdeen University Library Catalogue, accessible online http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/library/

No copies known

Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation.

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of Special Libraries and Archives (e-mail: speclib@abdn.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

This material has been appraised in line with normal procedures

No accruals expected

The extensive collection of maps and plans relating to these papers is held in the Map Room, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Aberdeen.

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This material is original