| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | MS 4038 |
| Alt Ref No | MS 999 |
| Title | Dingwall-Fordyce of Brucklay, Aberdeenshire, papers |
| Date | 17th century - 20th century |
| Extent | 20 archive boxes, 1 outsize box, 218 volumes and 4 rolled plans: 16 linear metres |
| Administrative History | Dingwall-Fordyce of Brucklay, Aberdeenshire. For more information on the family see: Family record of the name of Dingwall Fordyce in Aberdeenshire (Alexander Dingwall Fordyce, Toronto, 1885). |
| Source | Gifted by Andrew Dingwall-Fordyce in 2018. Additional material in December 2022.
Items in section 1 were previously MS 999 (writs handed over to the Law Faculty of Aberdeen University by the librarian at Strichen in 1967, and passed on by Professor Farquhar MacRitchie, Professor of Conveyancing, to the Library). |
| Description | Papers relating to the family of Dingwall Fordyce and the estates of Brucklay and others.
The Dingwall (later Dingwall Fordyce) family acquired the lands of Brucklay in the 18th century and the collection illustrates the earlier ownership history and the management of Brucklay and other estates owned by the family. It also contains papers and letters of Captain Alexander Dingwall-Fordyce RN (1800 – 1864) and William Dingwall Fordyce M.P. 1836 – 1875. Other family members represented in the collection are Arthur Dingwall Fordyce of Culsh, LL.D. (1745 – 1834), Advocate in Aberdeen and Commissary of Aberdeen, and William Dingwall (1782 – 1837), merchant in Greenock and Glasgow. |
| Arrangement | 1. Title deeds to the lands held by the Dingwall Fordyce family with related writs illustrating the transfers of property between the landed families of the north-east of Scotland in the 17th to 19th centuries
2. Papers of the proprietors of the Brucklay estate, family of Dingwall and Dingwall Fordyce. These include letter books of correspondence received by Captain Alexander Dingwall-Fordyce, copy books of letters written by William Dingwall Fordyce M.P., mostly on estate business; also a record of the parliamentary and public activities of William Dingwall-Fordyce and the minute and account books of the New Deer Hall Company
3. Papers of other family members of the Dingwall family, mainly letter books and business books belonging to three members of the family. These include business books of Arthur Dingwall Fordyce of Culsh, LL.D. (1745 – 1834) Advocate in Aberdeen and Commissary of Aberdeen, and the business books of merchants in Aberdeen and Glasgow
4. Estate management papers for the Brucklay estate and other lands owned by the Dingwall Fordyce famly, including factory accounts, factors' correspondence, memorandum books, leases, reports, and descriptions of estate contents
5. Maps and plans including 18th and 19th century survey-based plans of the Brucklay estates, plans of proposed improvements, and a collection of large-scale annotated Ordnance Survey maps. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Related Material | See also 19th century estate management papers held as part of the Stuart & Stuart, Cairns & Co, W.S., Collection (National Archives of Scotland, ref. GD 274). |