Events, Talks and Visits

Public Talks

2 May, 5.30-6.30pm, General Register House - In-person Only
Alliance and Misalliance in the Balfour Family: The Choices of Lady Frances and Lady Betty
Professor Susan Pedersen, Morris Professor of British History, Columbia University
Book online

When Lady Frances Campbell and Lady Betty Lytton married into the Balfour family in 1879 and 1887, they expected to be “political wives,” working to further the careers and interests of their husbands and kin. They knew too that their new female in-laws would be unchosen partners in that project. But then the electorate expanded, politics moved from country houses to offices and clubs, and male party agents took over from political wives. Where did that leave Frances and Betty?

This talk uses the rich Balfour family papers, held by the National Records of Scotland, to uncover the lives and choices of two “outsider” sisters-in-law in this powerful political clan. We think of the “independent women” of the 1890s as the harbingers of feminism, but – as Frances’ and Betty’s correspondence reveals – some aristocratic wives also allied to renegotiate the terms of their marriages and to claim new roles and rights.  

Book Online

Evening Class

Scottish Handwriting 1500-1700

Each year, NRS runs evening classes in palaeography on behalf of the University of Edinburgh's Office of Lifelong Learning. This practical course in Scottish Handwriting covering the period 1500-1700 is taught by archivists from NRS at General Register House in Edinburgh. The course runs for 10 weeks on Tuesday evenings from September with a second 10 week term starting in the following January. More information can be found on the University of Edinburgh's Short Courses pages, where you can also enrol onto the course.

Classes start at 5.30pm to 7.00pm on Tuesday 16 January 2024 at General Register House, Princes Street, Edinburgh. For more information on the course, please contact: [email protected]

Learning

National Records of Scotland’s (NRS) Outreach and Learning department supports learning for all age groups. Our Services for Schools are designed to support the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and National Qualifications. NRS staff can also provide specialist talks to interested groups.

If you have any enquiries about our services, please contact: [email protected].

Past NRS talks

If you have missed one of our recent public talks, many can be viewed on the NRS YouTube channel.