BORDERS MUSIC FESTIVAL

“Ten days of world-class choral, folk, jazz and orchestral music in the heart of the Scottish Borders”

On behalf of Robert Marshall WS, we are sharing that the Borders Music Festival has officially rebranded and launched its new look! With a public press launch coming up in early August, the team has been hard at work preparing an incredible line-up.

The festival features fantastic international talent, alongside four inspiring educational projects and exciting new funding support.

You can explore the newly launched website and discover the full programme here: Borders Music Festival.

Please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested or who would love to support the arts in the Borders!

We look forward to welcoming some of these internationally talented musicians to the Signet Library in December for our Festive concert. More details to follow soon.

SIG ROUND UP

BOOK CLUB

Our Book Club’s August Book is The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd. Described as “a masterpiece of nature writing”  and “the finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain” it describes the author’s journeys into the Cairngorm mountains.

Join us online on Tuesday 25 August, 6.00 - 7.00 pm and sign up to the group’s mailing list by emailing membership@wssociety.co.uk.

PERFORMING ARTS

The WS Society is thrilled to launch our new Performing Arts Special Interest Group, open to all members. Designed to celebrate Edinburgh's vibrant cultural scene, the group will host a curated calendar of theatre, musical, and arts outings featuring a relaxed social element for networking and catching up.

Join us for our inaugural outing to the Usher Hall on Friday 2 October 2026 for the RSNO’s Shostakovich Five — featuring a powerful programme led by conductor Patrick Hahn and violist Lawrence Power.

Join the group’s mailing list by emailing membership@wssociety.co.uk.

ACADEMIC CONFERENCE LAUNCHED

The Signet Library was delighted to host the launch of a joint conference last week on Catalogues and Registers as Evidence in the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology in collaboration with SIGMA, IASH, the Edinburgh Bibliographical Society and the University of Edinburgh.

Delegates were welcomed by conference organiser J.P. Asher and Research Principal James Hamilton before being given a tour of the Library which ended in an exhibition drawn from Signet Library collections on the early history of the organization of human knowledge through library catalogues.

Library catalogues were among the first and most important efforts to find ways to bring order to the entire span of human knowledge. In this, the Signet Library played an important role, producing in 1805 the first real classified catalogue of a major British collection and with its later catalogues guiding Thomas Carlyle in the building of the London Library. The 1805 catalogue took its origins from the famous early catalogue of French scholar Jacques-Auguste de Thou, the Catalogus bibliothecæ Thuanæ of 1679 (a book with de Thou’s original pre-1587 armorial binding was on show) and the exhibition showed this influence passing through Scottish catalogues such as that of Writer to the Signet James Anderson (d. 1728) and the Duke of Argyll (printed privately in 1758). Also on display were bookseller’s catalogues from the seventeenth and eighteenth century and some early catalogues of some of the small private libraries that were once such a feature of Scottish rural life.

AUTUMN CPD

PRIVATE CLIENT

The WS Society and STEP Scotland are delighted to present the STEP/WS Private Client Conference 2026, taking place on 30 September at the Signet Library, Edinburgh. Bringing together leading practitioners from across the profession, this popular annual event will provide a practical and insightful update on the latest developments affecting private client lawyers and their clients.

This year's programme will explore a range of topical issues, including pre-nuptial agreements, the new inheritance tax residency rules and their impact on internationally mobile clients, succession law, pensions in estate and wealth planning, and the most significant private client cases from 2025-26. Delegates will benefit from expert-led presentations and panel discussions designed to provide valuable guidance for practice in an evolving legal and regulatory landscape.

With 3 hours of CPD/TCPD, the conference also offers an excellent opportunity to connect with peers and hear from some of the sector's leading voices. We look forward to welcoming members for another engaging and informative event.

All rates include lunch and refreshments at the Signet Library.

SPORTS LAW

Co-chairs Gillian Treasurer and Angela McCracken

The WS Society is delighted to share the save the date for the Sports Law conference we will be hosting at the Signet Library on the 22 October 2026. The conference will be co-chaired by Gillian Treasurer, Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and Angela McCracken, Lions Rugby.

More details to follow!

PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE

Co-chairs Ashley Jones WS and Tim Edwards WS

The PNLA and WS Society have partnered to host a joint conference on Professional Negligence Law, designed to address the latest issues for professional negligence litigators in Scotland. The keynote address will be given by Lord Ericht WS. The conference will be jointly chaired by Ashley Jones WS of Burness Paull and Tim Edward WS of BTO. Join us on 29 October 2026 for a full day conference.

SUMMER SCHOLARS

This summer, we have been delighted to welcome so-far two of our three groups of Summer Scholars, who are undertaking dedicated research into critical contemporary issues within the Scottish legal system. Drawing on a combination of online resources, legislative materials and the Signet Library's archives, the scholars have been guided throughout their projects by the Society’s executive team.

PROTECTING VICTIMS & WITNESSES

Pictured: Amina Shahid (Glasgow Caledonian University), Emma Gilmour (University of Glasgow) and Elise Douglas (University of Edinburgh).

Our first group of scholars focused their research on the protection of vulnerable witnesses. Their report provides a timely examination of the reforms introduced by the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, exploring how these legislative changes are reshaping court procedures and the support available to those engaging with the justice system.

An excerpt from their report can be read below:

Rape Crisis Scotland has welcomed the creation of the specialist court, arguing that it has the potential to improve the experiences of survivors of sexual violence, many of whom have expressed dissatisfaction with the existing court process.

"At the court…it’s as if you’re invisible, or you don’t matter." — Participant 7

In support of this position, Rape Crisis Scotland points to the successful operation of a comparable specialist court in New Zealand, where dedicated judges and the increased use of special measures have contributed to a more trauma-informed approach to hearing evidence.

In contrast, the Law Society of Scotland has criticised the establishment of the specialist Sexual Offences Court as a matter of principle. It argues that creating a specialist court risks causing unnecessary complexity in the judicial system and has expressed concerns about the potential impact on the efficiency and administration of criminal proceedings.

POLICE ETHICS, CONDUCT & SCRUTINY

Pictured: Lucy Gallacher (University of Glasgow), Peter Fairhurst (University of Dundee) and William Boagey (University of Aberdeen).

Our second group examined the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025, seeking to answer the question: To what extent do a duty of candour and a code of ethics change the culture of Police Scotland?

Their report offers a thoughtful analysis of this significant legislative reform, considering its potential impact on police accountability, professional standards and public confidence in policing, alongside the evolving framework for oversight and scrutiny in Scotland.

An excerpt from their report can be read below:

The year is 1819, and The Broom Scandal has no sooner swept through the City of Edinburgh then it is swept under the rug. Established under the Edinburgh Police Act of 1805, city constables were respected members of the mercantile class, selected for integrity, and fairness.

Until an independent annual audit by the Cleansing Committee stumbled upon a fraudulent scheme. A barred police sergeant, Forsyth, had conspired with the Principal Police Clerk to create phantom bills for brooms. Over a six-year period, the force allegedly purchased 169,572 brooms, the equivalent of £100,640.08 of today's money, at the public's expense.

The 1819 Broom Scandal is the first example of institutional misconduct in new Scottish policing. Two centuries later, as we approach the fourteenth anniversary of Police Scotland, the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025 ("PECS"), addresses the same institutional weaknesses by embedding ethical policing standards in law and strengthening independent scrutiny.

LOOKING AHEAD

We warmly invite all WS members and colleagues to join us for the presentation by our final group of Summer Scholars, giving attendees the opportunity to support their work and engage with their research findings.

The online presentation will take place on Thursday 20 August at 2.00 pm and will provide valuable insight into another critical contemporary issue within the Scottish legal system. Attendance will count as one hour of CPD.

To register your interest, please contact Cady Shearsmith at cshearsmith@wssociety.co.uk.

ANNUAL DINNER 2026

“A lovely evening and a setting of effortless grandeur.”

Booking is now open for the Society’s Annual Dinner on Friday 13 November. Individual tickets are £175 and tables £1,750. Prices are ex VAT. Demand is high so early booking recommended!

We are delighted that our guest speaker will be The Right Honourable Lord Reed, President of the UK Supreme Court.  

For further information, please contact membership@wssociety.co.uk.

EXACT LIST OF WRITERS TO THE SIGNET

An Exact List of the whole Writers to His Majesty’s Signet, January 1720, which is now displayed in the Laing Room at the Signet Library.

Since 1720, the Society has periodically produced a splendid list of current Writers to the Signet. We have recently completed an up to date list as at August 2026 and this is viewable below.

If you should spot any error or incompleteness about your own entry, or about anyone else’s, please let us know to membership@wssociety.co.uk.

Once we have collected all amendments, the list will be finalised and a poster version will be displayed behind the reception desk in the main entrance to the Signet Library.

LORD MACKAY OF CLASHFERN

On Thursday 23 July, family, friends and senior figures from legal and public life gathered for the Funeral and Memorial Service in memory of the late Keeper of the Signet, Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT. Representing the Society were former Deputy Keepers Tom Drysdale WS, John Elliot WS, Caroline Docherty OBE WS, and Mandy Laurie WS, Fiscal and Trustee Jen Skeoch WS, and Chief Executive Robert Pirrie WS and Principal Solicitor Sophie Mills. Lord Hope of Craighead gave the Tribute as part of a moving service which featured the Choir of St Giles’ and music by Henry Purcell.

In our own tribute to Lord Mackay, we include here links to our own interview with Lord Mackay and a recording of the ‘in conversation’ event held in 2022 at the Signet Library as one of the events to mark 200 years of the Signet Library.

Lord Mackay’s accomplishments have been well covered in obituaries in the national press. It is particularly for his friendly warmth, humanity, and humour that he is remembered on his frequent attendance at Diets of Admission, Annual Dinners and other occasions at the Signet Library. Lord Mackay was a keen supporter of everything the Society has been doing to open the Signet Library to visitors, for everything from legal work, historical studies, family occasions or afternoon tea.

We have extended the heartfelt condolences to Lady Mackay and her family of everyone at the WS Society, trustees, members and employees.

“In 2007, Lord Mackay became the Lord Clerk Register and Keeper of the Signet. In this capacity, he and Lady Mackay became very much part of the WS Society family and much loved by us all. ”

— Dr Robert Pirrie WS, Chief Executive speaking at the Signet 200 - An Evening with Lord Mackay of Clashfern.

SUMMER SCHOLARS 2026

Amina Shahid, Glasgow Caledonian University; Emma Gilmour, The University of Glasgow; and Elise Douglas, The University of Edinburgh.

We are delighted to announce the arrival of the first cohort for our 2026 Summer Scholars programme. An annual initiative, the WS Society has welcomed a group of talented emerging legal minds to undertake dedicated research on a critical contemporary issue within the Scottish legal system.

This year, our scholars are focusing their research on the protection of vulnerable witnesses. Their work provides a timely examination of the reforms introduced by the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, exploring how these legislative changes are reshaping court procedures and the support structures available to those engaging with the justice system.

We warmly invite all members and colleagues to join us for the scholars' presentation to support their hard work and engage with their research. This session on Thursday 2 July, 2.00 pm (online) is an excellent opportunity to gain insight into the practical impact of the 2025 Act.

Please contact Kirsty at kmcewing@wssociety.co.uk to register interest.

AGM 2026

Cover image: An extract from Robert Sayer, A new and exact map of Scotland or North Britain described by N. Sanson and translated into English at the expense of Robert Sayer (London: Laurie & Whittle, 1794).

At the Society’s AGM on 23 June, Deputy Keeper Jim Cormack KC WS looked back over some highlights of an eventful 2025. It was particularly pleasing to see the design of the Signet for His Majesty The King. In digital format for the first time, the Signet continues as the authenticating mark on Court of Session summonses, symbolising authority for service. The Deputy Keeper recorded the Society’s thanks to Lady Angiolini for taking the time out of her busy schedule to attend the Diet of Admission and Annual Dinner in November 2025. Treasurer Tony Jones KC WS reviewed the financial performance for the year. 

The Society’s Annual Accounts were approved – available in flipbook form here — and the election of the current trustees confirmed.  

UPCOMING CPD

Sports Law

The WS Society is delighted to share the save the date for the Sports Law conference we will be hosting at the Signet Library on the 22 October 2026. The conference will be co-chaired by Gillian Treasurer, Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and Angela McCracken, Lions Rugby. More details to follow!

Professional Negligence

The PNLA and WS Society have partnered to host a joint conference on Professional Negligence Law, designed to address the latest issues for professional negligence litigators in Scotland. The keynote address will be given by Lord Ericht WS. The conference will be jointly chaired by Ashley Jones WS of Burness Paull and Tim Edward WS of BTO. Join us on 29 October 2026 for a full day conference.

Private Client

STEP Scotland and the WS Society invite you to save the date for our annual conference on 30 September 2026 9 am - 1 pm. More details to follow!

THE GLASGOW PHILISOPHICAL SOCIETY

The Signet Library is proud to be chosen as the new repository of the publications of the Glasgow Philosophical Society. Founded in 1802 to provide Glasgow with a forum for the advancement of science and the arts, the Society can count some of the greatest minds in Scottish history amongst its membership, including the great pioneering surgeon Joseph Lister and the great scientist Lord Kelvin. The link up with the Signet Library ensures access to these important publications for researchers and scholars in perpetuity.

The Society’s publications – which include early constitutional documents – range from 1841 to 1987 and include maps, diagrams, fold-out illustrations and photographs as well as full length papers.

The Society has indexed its publications and has made them available to us for the use of researchers. For more details, see our new page on the Signet Heritage Portal:

LIGHTNING TALK SERIES

An important feature of membership of the WS Society is the opportunity to share and learn with one another. To increase the opportunities to do this, we’re introducing a Lightning Talk series of lunchtime online sessions — an ideal time to meet and engage online.

To launch the series, Kim Leslie WS will share her tips on ‘How to Build a Powerful Network’ on Wednesday 16 September, 12.30 – 13.30 pm.

Open to our members in all categories, we warmly encourage you to attend.

SIG ROUND UP

book club

The next Book Club will meet on Tuesday 14 July, 6.00 - 7.00 pm, to discuss March Violets by Philip Kerr.

Philip Kerr was born in Edinburgh and read Law at university. This novel is the first in a series of fourteen, set in Hitler’s Germany of the 1930s, featuring Bernhard Gunther, a private eye and former cop. Described as stylishly written and powerfully evocative, Kerr's crime classic transports readers to the rotten heart of Nazi Berlin, and introduces a private eye in the great tradition of Hammett and Chandler.

Register for the Zoom meeting here.

performing arts

We are delighted to announce the launch of our Performance Arts Special Interest Group, open to all WS members.

The purpose of the group is to arrange theatre/musical/arts outings generally based around Edinburgh with a social element attached.

If you are keen to know more, please confirm a mobile number to be added to the WhatsApp Group. Please email membership@wssociety.co.uk to confirm you would like to be added to the Performing Arts SIG WhatsApp group.

The hope is members will come forward with their own suggestions and plan an event.

In the meantime, if you would like to attend any of the following events, please complete this form. Please complete this at your earliest convenience, so tickets can be purchased. A social event (meal/drink etc) will be added once numbers are known.

• Friday 2 October 2026 - Shostakovich Fives -The Usher Hall-Talk at 6.45pm followed by a concert at 7.30 pm.

• Tuesday 13 October or Wednesday 14 October 2026 - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - The Royal Lyceum Theatre at 7.30 pm

• Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27 or Thursday 28 November 2026 - A Man For All Seasons - Festival Theatre at 7.30 pm (featuring Martin Shaw as Sir Thomas More).

Please keep an eye on our dedicated Special Interest Group page for upcoming AI, Charity and Third Sector, Golf, Performance Arts and Student events.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT — CAROLINE DOCHERTY OBE WS

Caroline pictured with Lord Mackay of Clashfern during their tenor as Deputy Keeper of the Signet and Keeper of the Signet.

In our latest Member Spotlight, we sit down with Caroline Docherty OBE WS, the first female Deputy Keeper of the Signet and former commercial property legal partner.

Caroline reflects on her inspiring journey from trainee to partner in commercial property law, highlighting the pivotal role that female mentors played in shaping her career. She recounts her unconventional path to discovering the WS Society, a connection that led to her historic appointment as the first female Deputy Keeper of the Signet wherein she oversaw a period of significant change and modernisation.

Alongside her professional achievements, Caroline also offers a glimpse into her personal interests beyond the law that continue to enrich her life.

INVITATION TO ABBOTSFORD

“The storyteller, the collector, the host. Discover the man who filled his home with imagination. ”

The WS Society invites you to Abbotsford, the extraordinary historic estate of Sir Walter Scott, on Saturday 1 August. 

The tour has been organised by the Society’s History Special Interest Group and will take in the public areas of the house, gardens and the Visitor Centre. Abbotsford is also planning to show the WS party unique manuscripts not usually on show to the public, as well as our own Signet Library manuscript of Sir Walter Scott's “The Eve of St. John”.

Spaces are limited.

Contact membership@wssociety.co.uk for further details.

MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS

We will shortly issue subscriptions notices for the membership year 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. We remind you that your subscription can be paid by monthly direct debit.

For details on annual subscription rates, please visit our website.

If you have moved firms or house recently, or just changed email address, let us know. Please send updates to membership@wssociety.co.uk.

VACANCY FOR A TRUSTEE — JOHN WATSON'S TRUST

A vacancy for a Writer to the Signet as a Trustee for John Watson’s Trust will open up in the late autumn and we would like to hear from interested candidates.

The Trust awards grants for educational purposes to children and young people up to and including the age of 21 who have a physical or learning disability or who are socially disadvantaged. The vacancy exists on the Grants Committee which allocates the Trust’s grants and will involve five in-person meetings annually held at the Signet Library.

Please contact James Hamilton to express interest.

CATALOGUING THE TINCKLARIAN DOCTOR

Dr Kit Baston has just completed an important project recataloguing the Signet Library’s collection of pamphlets and publications by the Georgian Edinburgh eccentric William Mitchel. Mitchel, known as the “Tincklarian Doctor” was a remarkable autodidact and self-publisher of some of the most extraordinary tracts, sermons and ephemera ever issued by an individual.

The Signet Library holds what is almost certainly the largest collection of Mitchel material outwith national or university collections, and we believe ten of our Mitchel pamphlets are unique.

KAISER VOLENS: LORD GUTHRIE AND AN AUTHOR OF THE 1745

Currently on show in the Upper West Library is an exhibition of book cover art from the late Victorian and Edwardian golden age of popular literature. Some of the items on show, chosen by Dr. Kit Baston and Jo Hockey, include first editions of Kipling’s Just So Stories and Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince.

One item, Frederick Watson’s 1914 novel Muckle John, is special in that the Signet Library copy once belonged to the Senator of the College of Justice Lord Guthrie, and he was interested enough in the book (an adventure for boys about the 1745 Rebellion) to write to Watson with his comments and criticisms (which included a comment about the absence of women amongst the characters and worries about the use of modern language). He inserted the text of his letter into the book, alongside Watson’s reply, which read:

I am so glad that you found the story enlivening, but as it is for boys between 12 and 17 I have to leave out the heroine. It is difficult to say how the book will go at such a fearsome time, but as a Christmas present it may not fall quite flat.

Your shrapnel at my twentieth century phrases is I feel sure, deserved. I make no defence historically — my defence must lie in another channel, and here I would like your opinion. .... The modern fiction reader loathes dialect in expressions that sound fantastic today. .... I will not ask you to reply to this, but we can discuss it in the Spring (Kaiser Volens).