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Law and change: Scottish legal heroes
Law and change: Scottish legal heroes

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2.3 Records and land ownership

The Registration Act 1617 is another key development in the legal history of Scotland. It established a system of recording land ownership unique to Scotland. The Act provided for the recording of all deeds transferring land ownership within Scotland and was followed by the Registration Act 1681. Together these Acts have created a history of all land transactions in Scotland since the seventeenth century.

The Registers of Scotland celebrated their 400-year anniversary in 2017. You can find out more about their history by exploring the Registers of Scotland timeline [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . Land registration in England began in 1862.