You can now explore over 100,000 newly added prisoner admission records from Ayr and Inveraray prisons.
They feature inmates admitted to the Ayr prison between 1841–1911 and Inveraray between 1828–1887. These new records are among over 400,000 prison register entries available to search online.
Prison records provide a rare glimpse into the lives of people, often in desperate circumstances, who may have left few other records behind. They are a unique resource for family history researchers and social historians alike.
Alongside these new records from Ayr and Inveraray prisons, you can also search registers from Barlinnie in Glasgow, Edinburgh Bridewell, Edinburgh Calton, Largs, and Perth. These include over 2,000 prisoner photographs from Barlinnie and Perth.
Read our tips to hone your search and find new family connections.
Where to start
Search our prison registers by name, age, sex, year of admittance, prison, trial court or country of birth.
Start broad, then narrow down. Try searching minimal details first, then add more details if you get too many results. Use our search tools to increase your success.
Discover new details
Prison records often provide a wealth of details including an individual's:
- age
- height
- date of admission and release
- trial and sentence details
- place of birth and nationality
- occupation
- general health
- religion
View multi-page entries
Prison entries sometimes span multiple pages. Look for the "Next (paid)" button to view the complete record without additional charges.
Find admission dates
You can view a prisoner's year of admission in the search results.
Click the 'Info' link to see the specific day, month and year of admission.
This can be helpful where people had multiple admissions in one year. For example, the prisoner below – Helen Park, of Maybole in Scotland – was admitted to Ayr Prison several times in 1866. Each admission carries a separate entry. View admission dates by selecting 'Info' and view the more detailed record by selecting 'View image'.
Check for aliases
Many prisoners used multiple names. Look for "YES" in the "Has alias?" column and click "Info" to see alternative names.
Access linked records
Some individuals have both a register entry and a case note. Where available, use 'View register' and 'View case note' buttons to see connected records for the same prisoner-patient.
Each entry costs 6 credits to view.
Uncover religious clues
Checking a prisoner's religion can help you trace their other life events. Before 1855, births, marriages and deaths were recorded in church registers.
If your ancestor followed the Church of Scotland, other Presbyterian churches, or the Roman Catholic Church, you can often find them in the church registers section.
Head to our church registers guide for more information.
The "Mac" rule
Other than for Ayr and Inveraray prisons, surnames starting with "Mc", "Mac" or "M'" are indexed under "Mac" in prison records.
This helps account for inconsistencies when names were recorded. Ayr and Inveraray prisons include surnames as written.
Using the 'Fuzzy matching' search option will return the widest range of results.
Find out more