Library and Study Centre

Housed in one wing of the Museum building, the Clan Donald Library has one of the best reference collections in the North West. It covers all aspects of Scottish culture and history, especially that of the Highlands, as well as natural history, topography and biography.

Visitors to Armadale are welcome to browse our impressive collection of over 7000 books. Find out more about the history of Skye or of the clans. Read about emigrant families or study Gaelic poetry.  Identify that bird or wild flower you have just seen or read in depth about the topics covered in the museum. Make use of our genealogy research service to look for your ancestors. Or find more information about Clan Donald.

Special Collections:
Archive collections include Lord Macdonald’s estate papers. Charters and land grants, rent lists, correspondence, estate maps and financial accounts, these papers provide a framework for local history research into Skye and North Uist. They cover the period 1542-1949 but mostly relate to the 19th century.

Maps. We have an extensive collection of maps relating to Skye and the Highlands, including early printed maps and manuscript estate maps.

Jacobite collection. A comprehensive collection of books and pamphlets published from the late 17th century onwards give an illuminating insight into the history of the Jacobites. Several items from this collection are on display in the museum.

The nearby Gaelic college, Sabhal Mor Ostaig, has an extensive library, which complements our collections. The library web page includes comprehensive subject listings with links to useful Internet sites and subject gateways. To access the SMO library web page in Gaelic choose this link; for details in English choose this link.

Trace your family tree

Discover your Highland roots

Delve into your family history

You can find out if your surname is Scottish, or what it means, when you visit our Library and Study Centre. Our collection includes books on tartans, Highland dress, clan histories and much more.

You can also find out more detailed information on your family tree if your ancestors came from Skye and the surrounding area - see the shaded area on the map.

Highland genealogy can be frustrating, especially to those unfamiliar with the places, and people concerned. Why not make use of our local knowledge and research expertise?
The library team, led by our archivist, all have experience in genealogy research. They are always on hand to help and guide you if you require assistance or advice on your research.

We have comprehensive genealogy sources for this area including censuses, parish records, monumental inscriptions and maps. We also hold a unique collection of original rentals and estate documents relating to Skye and North Uist, that can be found nowhere else, and a database of detailed records of over 5000 families in south Skye. More information on our sources is given below.

Postal enquiries We cater for the long-distance researcher. Make use of our affordable research service. You can ask us to undertake a search for you up to a limit of 3 hours. Send us details of the family you are researching and we will give you an estimate of the likely cost before proceeding.

Postal enquiries are undertaken at the following rates:
UK residents: £22 up to 1 hour, £37 up to 2 hours, £52 up to 3 hours.
Overseas residents: £25 up to 1 hour, £40 up to 2 hours, £55 up to 3 hours.
This includes VAT, postage, preparation and processing time, but not the cost of photocopies or microfilm reproductions.

Or make the search yourself by visiting the library at Armadale.
Please note there is a small extra charge for this service on top of the ticket price to Armadale, as follows:

Our charges are per enquiry (not per person) and include VAT and as much help as you need. They do not include the cost of photocopies or microfilm reproductions.

Sources:
Database of over 5000 family sheets giving details of Skye families, with related croft histories.

Census Returns 1841 to 1901 for all 78 parishes in Inverness-shire and Argyll (including the islands) are available. We also hold an incomplete set for parishes in mainland Ross & Cromarty for the same period but not for the island of Lewis. On microfilm.

Old Parish Records up to 1855 for the Church of Scotland, recording baptisms, and marriages are available for the same area as for the census. The period covered varies from parish to parish but all stop in 1855 when Civil Registration was introduced. Registers of 94 parishes are available on microfilm.

International Genealogical Index, a microfiche index to the Old Parish Records and to the first twenty years (1855-75) of the civil registers. For all of Scotland, England and Ireland.

Maps - including Ordnance Survey, manuscript and early printed maps, to help the family historian in identifying places associated with their ancestors.

Family History Books - an extensive collection of published and unpublished histories of Scottish families and Highland Clans (not just Clan Donald). Also books on genealogy, heraldry and monumental inscriptions.

Archives. We hold the records of Lord Macdonald’s estates in Skye and North Uist. These date mainly from the 18th and 19th century and include lists of tenants, and other sources useful to the genealogist.

Shipping Lists giving names of emigrant passengers rarely survive from the past. We have a small but useful collection, mostly copies found in printed sources.  They include a full set of the Highlands and Islands Emigration Society passenger lists to Australia 1852-55.

How to contact us

Armadale Castle Gardens & Museum of the Isles
Armadale, Sleat, Isle of Skye IV45 8RS, Scotland.
Telephone: 01471 844305 or 01471 844227
Fax: 01471 844275
E-mail: office@clandonald.com

If telephoning from outside the UK the numbers are your international code +44 1471 844305 or 844227, or Fax +44 1471 844275.

The direct line to the Museum of the Isles is 01599 534454

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