Traquair House archives - Traquair House

Treasure Trove of Material

The archives contain a huge amount of family and political papers including charters dating back to the 1300’s. They give an extraordinary insight into the lives of the family who lived here recording events that shaped them in a local, national and international context.

If you visit Traquair you will see lots of archives on display throughout the house. There are rotating exhibitions in the Museum Room and High Gallery and many can be found in our book, A Family Life Revealed – The Stuarts of Traquair 1491 – 1875.

Online Features

We are now sharing our archives with our website visitors, and currently have 8 online features:

A New Discovery - The Honours of Scotland

A new document has generated much excitement at Traquair House when a dusty “nondescript” document was retrieved from a box of papers from the 1600’s

Staying at Traquair in the 1920s

Notes recently discovered on household routines at Traquair 1920’s and 30’s thought to be by Claire Maxwell Stuart who often visited as a child during this time.

An Exciting Discovery - letter to Charles, 7th Earl of Traquair

We have recently uncovered a fascinating letter from the Roman Catholic bishop, George Hay, Vicar Apostolic of the Lowland District in Scotland, to Charles, 7^th Earl of Traquair.

Return to Traquair - Baptisms, marriages, and confirmations

In July 2022 a small leather-bound manuscript volume with brass clasps turned up in a London auction house, with the sale catalogue revealing that it bore the bookplate of Charles Stuart, 4^th Earl of Traquair, dated 1708. Fortunately, Catherine Maxwell Stuart, 21^st Lady of Traquair, was the successful bidder, and the volume is now preserved in the archives at Traquair. How and when it strayed from Traquair, and where it has been kept in the intervening years, remain a mystery. Happily, it is still in perfect condition.

Traquair’s Tenants, Cottars and Workers

Genealogical treasures in the archives of an historic Scottish Borders estate

Diary of Mary Ravenscroft

Excerpts from the diary of Mary Ravenscroft, 7th Countess of Traquair, from 1782 to 1783, detailing the minutiae of daily life here at Traquair. (Interested in reading more diaries? The Scottish Borders Archives have the fascinating diary of Charlotte, another lady from the Borders)

Our 18th Century American Connection

In 1770 Lady Christina Stuart, eldest daughter of 6th Earl of Traquair, married a young Virginian, Cyrus Griffin, who was studying law at Edinburgh University. In 1773 the couple left for America where Cyrus was to become one of the Founding Fathers.

Traquair's Jacobite Connection

In 2015 Traquair commemorated the 300th anniversary of the 1715 Jacobite Rising in which family members played their part.

Historical Researchers

Please note that the Traquair Archives are privately-owned and not generally open to the public. Wherever possible we allow access to bona fide historical researchers who have a specific research topic. A limited amount of research may also be undertaken on behalf of enquirers. Enquiries should be made to enquiries@traquair.co.uk and these will be considered by our archivist. A charge is made for all archival services.

Archive Afternoons at Traquair

A special way to delve into the archives, led by Archivist Margaret Fox and Catherine Maxwell Stuart.