The papers are of the Chiefs of Clan Chisholm who held land in Stathglass, Glen Affric and Glen Cannich (their main seat being at Comar). There was originally a large collection of these papers, an inventory of which was made by Jean Munro (Clan Chisholm Historian) in 1992. Sometime after Jean Munro’s inventory was compiled a large number of the papers were lost, believed destroyed. The surviving items were acquired by the Highland Archive Centre and catalogued using Jean Munro’s inventory. In April 2015 those papers which were believed to have been destroyed were discovered behind the wall of a house in Perthshire – these too were acquired by the Highland Archive Centre (reuniting the original collection) and are at present being catalogued with the help of Munro’s inventory.
The collection in its entirety consists of sasines, charters and other legal documents detailing the Chisholms’ many and varied transactions regarding land, inheritance etc.
The collection dates from the 15th Century onwards and largely consists of vellum and parchment manuscripts.
A number of interesting original seals can also be found on documents in the collection including one with very distinctive teeth marks!
Once catalogued, the records will be available to view in the Searchroom at Highland Archive Centre.
