Lochaber Archive Centre preserves the official records of The Highland Council and its predecessor authorities, including the former Regional, County, District and Burgh Councils as well as a wider variety of records relating to the history of Lochaber in various formats, including minute books, correspondence, maps, plans and photographs. A summary of our main holdings is outlined below. You can also search our online catalogue for more detailed information.
Local Government Records
- County records for Inverness and Argyll (collections relating to Lochaber only)
- Burgh records for Fort William (1874-1975)
- Highland Regional Council records (1975–1996)
- The Highland Council records (1997-2007)
Key Record Series
- Education records from the 1860s, including school logbooks and admission registers for over 60 Lochaber schools
- Poor relief records (1845–1930)
- Property valuation rolls (1874–1990)
- Abridgements of Sasines for Inverness-shire and Argyllshire (1781-1971)
- Police archives (1875–1996 (closure periods apply))
- Church records including kirk sessions and presbytery records for parishes in the Lochaber Presbytery (1724-1991)
- Genealogical resources for the Lochaber area including census returns (1841-1901) Old Parish Registers, and the International Genealogical Index
Privately Deposited Collections
In addition to official records, we hold hundreds of privately deposited collections, including:
- Estate and family papers such as Cameron of Lochiel estate and personal papers (from 1624) including a large collection of material relating to the 1715, 1719 and 1745 Jacobite risings, Cameron-Head of Inverailort papers (from 1799) and Knoydart estate papers (1810-1945)
- Business, societies, and other organisations records including Invergarry Historical Society (1894-1985), Register of Ships in Fort William Port (1824-1827), and Ballachulish and Glencoe Curling Club (1897-1904)
- Maps and plans including Ordnance Survey plans scale 25″:1 mile (from 1870)
- The West Highland Museum Collections including Jacobite collections, Arisaig estate papers and the Ben Nevis Observatory visitors' books
For further details on privately deposited archives held at Lochaber Archive Centre, please download our Deposited index.
Donate to our Archives
The Archive Service preserves, conserves and makes accessible over 700 years of Highland history. There is no charge to visit our Archive Centres and access the collections we hold, but High Life Highland is a charity and we rely on your donations.
