Continuity of Care

Please note this project is currently paused but we will reopen volunteering in January 2025.

Background information: The William Simpsons Asylum opened in Plean in 1836 as a home caring for old sailors and soldiers. It was founded by Colonel Frances Simpson (1760-1831), a military man and merchant seaman, who purchased an estate in Plean, a village near Stirling, in 1800. Responsibility for managing the estate and the new asylum was passed to the Plean Trust, with the profits from the estate going into supporting the asylum. In 2014 a collection of nineteenth century records relating to the asylum (and the Plean estate) were discovered during building works at the home. This material was transferred to the University Archives and provides a detailed record of the management of the asylum and estate in the nineteenth century.

Project details: Cleaning, flattening and repacking of nineteenth century estate and asylum documents tied in tightly packed bundles and stored in metal trunks. The unpacking of these bundles will allow more detailed cataloguing of the contents, opening up the collection for research.

Location: In person, in the archives reading room (located in the University Library).

Skills gained: Experience of handling historical documents, basic conservation and preservation techniques.

Contact us: archives@stir.ac.uk