The Stair Society was founded in 1934 to encourage the study and advance the knowledge of the history of Scots Law by the publication of original documents and by the reprinting and editing of works of sufficient rarity or importance.
The Society, a registered charity, has produced over 67 volumes, aiming to publish a volume each year (although this is not guaranteed). Some of these are of antiquarian interest, while others are of wider intellectual and historical significance.
Membership of the Stair Society is open to all with an interest in the history of Scots law, in the UK or abroad.
The Stair Society’s 90th Annual General Meeting will be held in the Mackenzie Building, Old Assembly Close, Edinburgh on Saturday 15 November 2025 by courtesy of the Faculty of Advocates. For members, the business part of the meeting
Volume 69 was published in April 2023 as David Chalmers of Ormond, Compendium of the Laws of Scotland, edited by Winifred Coutts, Julian Goodare and Andrew R. C. Simpson. Completed in 1566, this work is
Membership of the Stair Society is open to all with an interest in the history of Scots law, in the UK or abroad. Our members include practising lawyers, legal academics, law students, and academic and professional institutions, libraries, and law firms.
Lectures have been delivered every year since 1934 by lawyers and legal historians of distinction from Europe and the US as well as from Scotland and England, and many of their lecture texts have been published – recent lectures are archived.
The Stair Society has published over sixty-five handsomely produced hardback volumes – visit our online directory of Stair Society volumes. All publications in print are available for sale.
A growing collection of legal history resources offered in addition to Stair Society lectures and publications, including articles, lectures, manuscripts and research projects.
