Church Archives

Church archives are one of the richest sources of private archives within Archives and Special Collections. The Department holds the records of various denominations in Glasgow, the West of Scotland and other parts of Scotland from the 16th to the 20th century.

Archives and Special Collections is the recognised repository for:

• Church of Scotland - archives of Glasgow Presbytery and its kirk sessions from the 16th century to the 20th century including seceeding churches which reunited with the established church in 1900 and 1929

Stained glass window designs from the Govan Kirk Session collection (reference code: CH2/1277/71b)

• Episcopalian Church of Scotland - archives of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway including archives of the Diocese itself and a large number of churches

• Archives of Baptist, Congregationalist, Evangelical, Methodist and Unitarian Churches

These archives are a rich source for church history and can also be a wonderful source for the family historian. The archives include:

• Records of baptisms, marriages and burials. Among these are pre-1855 baptismal, marriage and burial registers for seceding and other non-conformist churches which are not included in the Old Parish Registers

• Kirk sessions: Minutes of kirk sessions of the Church of Scotland and the seceding churches. These record cases of the moral failings of the congregation such as slander drunkenness, fornication and irregular marriages

• Membership records: records of church members including communion rolls