Publications and projects

Image of part of a seventeenth century testament showing early modern handwriting

Selected publications

Palaeography and transcriptions

Robert H J Urquhart and Rob Close (editors), The Hearth Tax for Ayrshire (1998)

I was a proof-reader for the indexing work on Ayr burgh records for Alistair Lindsay and Jean Kennedy (editors), The Burgesses and Guild Brethren of Ayr, 1647-1846 (Ayrshire Federation of Historical Societies, 2002)

I was the original editor and content writer for the Scottish Handwriting website.

Wider historical research and archive sources

John Burnett and Robert H J Urquhart, ‘Early Papingo Shooting in Scotland’ in Review of Scottish Culture, volume 11 (1998-9)

William Lang and Robert H J Urquhart, ‘A Seventeenth-century Description of Herring Fishing off the West Coast of Scotland’, in Scottish Archives, volume 5 (1999)

Alastair Dinsmor and Robert H J Urquhart, ‘The Origins of Modern Policing in Scotland’ in Scottish Archives, volume 7 (2001)

Kirsty M Forbes and Robert H J Urquhart, ‘Records in the National Archives of Scotland relating to Poor Relief, 1845-1930’ in Scottish Archives, volume 8 (2002)

Current research work and interests

Parish Boundaries

With Dr David Leitch, I am researching the alteration of civil parish boundaries in Scotland between 1892 and 1929, with the intention of publishing a definitive digest of parishes modified under the 1894 Local Government (Scotland) Act.

Arran Rentals

I am transcribing rental rolls and other material relating to the island of Arran in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and hope to publish these in 2025.

Scots Community in Veere

Along with volunteers in Scotland and Zeeland, I am transcribing seventeenth century accounts of the Scots kirk in Veere.

Pryde and Pride Project

Since 2023 I have been transcribing and summarising wills and testaments and other records for members of the Pryde and Pride Project (https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/prydeand-pride/about). The aim of the project is to investigate the ancestry of those with the surname Pryde (and variants) and to find any links between different lines of Pryde ancestry, using both DNA testing and traditional genealogy. The Pryde surname has been associated with Fife from the late medieval period onwards.

Image of the start of the testament of George Pryd, maltman, 1616 (Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, CC20/4/6/90).