Public Performance Reporting

Registration, Bereavement and Archives

During 2006, our Registration Service helped people register a total of 1,049 births and 1436 deaths across South Ayrshire. We also registered 772 marriages and 17 civil partnerships, reflecting the change in legislation allowing same sex couples to have a civil ceremony, giving the same rights as a civil marriage.

We are responsible for 52 cemeteries and churchyards, with 46 hectares grounds to be maintained. In 2006 there were 418 burials and at Masonhill Crematorium, 1,246 cremations.

The Ayrshire Archives service was established in 1996, as a joint initiative to look after the documentary history of Ayrshire. Its records are stored at is base within the Craigie Estate, in Ayr. In 2006 over 1,500 people visited the Archives Centre. A further 3,633 enquiries were received by phone, letter or email.

Many of its users are researching their family history and this figure has increased with the popularity of TV programmes such as the BBC’s Who do you think you are? Other enquiries are about the history of buildings and changes in the local community over the generations, together with a wide range of other topics.

We provide a service to Council departments to look after their non-current records, retrieving files as and when required. In 2006 more than 27,000 records were transferred to the Archives Centre and 4,528 records were requested by the various departments.