Case notes of patients in Victorian Scotland’s only prison unit for offenders with mental illnesses have gone online.

Perth Prison had Scotland's only department for people who were both prisoners and patients.

The records for patients admitted between 1846 and 1902 are now on the Scotland’s People website. There are case notes available for over 400 prisoner-patients, some of which include photographs.

Some of the cases involve serious crimes, including murder. These records could be upsetting for some readers. The language used in the records reflects the attitudes of the time.

National Records of Scotland Chief Executive Alison Byrne said:

"These records preserve important aspects of our history. They document how ordinary lives could unravel, often with devastating consequences. They show how doctors understood and treated mental illness in Victorian times. We are making these records available on Scotland's People to widen access to more researchers." 

Records of over 900 Perth Prison general population admissions for the years 1922-1924 are also now available online.