Statistical Accounts of Scotland

Scotland's statistical accounts, particularly the 'Old' Statistical Account of the 1791-1799 and the 'New' Statistical Account of 1834-1845, are key source documents on Scotland's geography, topography, population, agriculture, industries and social history. The first account, undertaken under the direction of Sir John Sinclair and titled The Statistical Account of Scotland, but known as the 'Old' Statistical Account to differentiate it from its later companion, was published in 21 volumes between 1791 and 1799. It gave a detailed description of life and society in each parish of the country. The New Statistical Account, which followed the same form as its predecessor, was first published in 52 quarterly parts between 1834 and 1845 and re-issued in county volumes between 1841 and 1845. In 1846 Samuel Lewis published A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, which covered much the same ground but in less detail than the New Statistical Account.

The Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799)
In 1790, Sir John Sinclair, MP for Caithness and member of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, proposed a detailed parish-by-parish survey of Scotland. This involved the church minister in each parish preparing written answers to a set of 160 questions on every aspect of his parish, including its geography and topography, climate, natural resources, natural history, population, schooling, and agricultural and industrial production. A further 11 questions were later asked in circulars sent to each minister. Some ministers did not respond, so "statistical missionaries" were sent to hurry them along. The project was completed in 1799 when Sir John presented to the General Assembly "a unique survey of the state of the whole country, locality by locality". The return for the "Parish of Tiry" (which included Coll), published in Volume 10 of The Statistical Account of Scotland, was written by the Rev. Archibald McColl in 1792/93. A summary was made by Iain Campbell in 2005 and is reproduced here with his permission.
To access the summary, click here .

The New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845)
In 1832, the Committee of the Society for the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy, which had benefited from sales of the first statistical account, proposed to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland that, because of the great changes that had taken place since the 1790s, a new statistical account should be prepared. The proposal was accepted and once again the clergy were asked to write about their parishes. The New Statistical Account was published in parts from 1834. The return for the "Parish of Tiree and Coll" was written by the Rev. N. MacLean in 1840 and revised in 1843. A summary was made by Iain Campbell in 2005 and is reproduced here with his permission.
To access the summary, click here .

The above brief histories of the 'Old' and 'New' Statistical Accounts are based on an article by Professor Charles Withers of the University of Edinburgh on the website www.electricscotland.com, which is gratefully acknowledged.

A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1846)
The entries in this volume were compiled from responses to a list of questions in a letter to "the Clergy, resident Landed Proprietors, Literary Gentlemen, and others, a copy being sent to each parish in the country". The entry for the Parish of Tiree and Coll was summarized by Keith Dash.
To access the summary, click here .