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(‘retoured’) to Chancery. Chancery then commissioned the Sheriff to grant possession of the land to
the heir (‘service of heir’) and to collect the fee payable to the Crown. Beginning 15 November 1847,
heirs could also petition for service.
There were two main types of services:
• A Special service of heir dealt with specifically mentioned land to be inherited.
• A General service of heir mentioned inheritance but not specific land.
Here is a chart showing Chancery records of retours or services of heirs and their availability both at
the National Archives in Edinburgh (NAS) and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (FHL).
Time Period
1530, 1544—
1700
1530, 1544—
1912
1700—1959
Records
Summaries & Index of Retours;
Printed Abstracts (in Latin), called—
Inquisitionum ad Capellum Regis Retornatarum
Abbreviato (volume 3 contains the index to
volumes 1 & 2)
Abridgements, original and registered retours
(in Latin until 1848, but indexed)
Decennial indexes (usually give the death date
of the defunct)
1701—1886 Index of appointments of tutors for minor heirs NAS only
1847—1955 Abstracts of Petitions for Services of Heirs
(generally give more info than the indexes, but
are filed by the original petition date rather
than the final court date. A study shows that
the time period between the petitions and
grants of service was usually within a year).
Availability
NAS;
FHL book Q 941 A2i, 3 vols. & film 0908847
Also available for purchase on CD from
www.scotsgenealogy.com (Scotland
Genealogical Society (SGS)
NAS (C22, 23, 24, 25);
FHL films 0231260—0231562
(Registered retours, 1700—1901)
NAS;
FHL book Q 941 R2ch, 14 vols.
(1700-1859 also on film 0990340)
(Also available for purchase on CD from
www.scotsgenealogy.com) (SGS)
NAS (CS345); FHL book 941 P2scs, vols. 31-
130 (1855-1955), films 1441082—1441099
1860—1929 Indexes 1860—1929 NAS; FHL fiche 6068606 (102 fiche)
Retours could have been recorded many years after the fact, so you should search accordingly.
Before 1848, retours and services of heirs are also found in sheriff, burgh, and regality court records.
Sometimes their verdicts were not ‘retoured’ to Chancery, so the records of these other courts should
also be searched. Beginning in November 1847, services of heirs were granted from the Chancery
Court only, though local courts continued to hold inquests and issue retours.
The records of the inquests of the local courts sometimes survive and may contain more information. You
will need to contact the county archive to see what survives. You can find a list of local archives, with
links to their websites, by going to http://www.scan.org.uk/directory/contactdetails.htm. There are
indexes for both the Inquests and the Services of Heirs.
For more information, see the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) guide to ‘Inheriting Land and
Buildings’ at http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/inheriting.asp.