Project Overview
The decision to release an extract of burial records, and update it on a regular basis, originated during the development stage of Stirling Council’s Open Data Phase 1 project following discussions with the Cemeteries Service on the content of a different dataset (the Asset Register dataset) as it was being prepared for publication on the Open Data Platform.
The published version of the Cemeteries dataset is derived using a simple query against Epilog, the Council’s cemeteries management application, and requires minimal intervention prior to release on the Open Data platform.
Why is it needed?
Stirling Council’s Cemeteries Service manages and maintains a significant number of active and historic graveyards and other burial sites across the local authority area, all of which generate requests on the location of interred relatives, friends and notable figures from the past. However, the volume of enquiries received on a weekly basis, averaging between 12 and 15, proved time consuming and, therefore, problematic as the staff involved in searching for the relevant information were diverted from dealing with the more immediate demands on the Service.
Impact and Benefits
In publishing the extract of burial records as Open Data, the initial intended outcome was to reduce the time taken by staff to response to general enquiries on burial locations. This was achieved as Cemeteries Service staff note at least a 50% reduction in time spent processing routine location enquiries since the Burial Records’ dataset was published in February 2019.
Another outcome has been the dataset’s contribution to genealogy and its role in the growing interest in Stirling and its surrounding area’s history. Positive feedback from platform users to the Open Data Team (for example, “Well done publishing this. An invaluable resource…”, “…what a great resource this is for Family history Research – well done for all the work put into it.”), comments on the Stirling Old Town Facebook page, and links to the Open Data platform on proprietary websites (for example, FindMyPast.co.uk) highlight that the Burial Records’ dataset has been promoted as a useful resource available to people tracing their ancestry.
In addition, combined with the published Asset Register dataset, which details property and land of significant interest including cemeteries, scheduled monuments, listed buildings and historic battlefields, the remains within and ownership, location and access to burial grounds provide the basis for mapping a comprehensive profile of Stirling’s people, past and present.
The interest in genealogy and history extends beyond local individuals and groups to a broader international market, stimulated over the last ten years by the filming of period dramas set in this country, and a desire for those interested in both to discover and research their Scottish ancestry.
Through its Economic Development Service and exploiting the Open Data capability detailed above, Stirling Council is pursuing an initiative which aims to realise the long-term economic benefits of meeting the demands this potentially lucrative market offers.
In addition, as there are other sources of information on burials within the Stirling Council area, e.g. parish registers from the 18th and 19th centuries, users will be directed to the Archive Service in response to enquiries of a more detailed, historic nature.
For more information please contact Jim Tonner, Open Data Project Officer, Stirling Council – tonnerj@stirling.gov.uk
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