History

The HES Archives began with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in 1908. Today, it holds more than five million items and continues to record all aspects of the historic environment in Scotland and beyond.

Recording the historic environment

The Ancient Monuments Protection Act was passed in 1882, providing the first state protection for ancient monuments in the UK. In the early 1900s, there was a call to compile a comprehensive and detailed list of all the significant monuments in Scotland to help with this new legislation.

Following a brief consultation by Sir John Sinclair, the Secretary for Scotland, King Edward VII established RCAHMS on 14 February 1908.

Since 1908, thousands of historic places have been recorded and the archive now holds an extensive collection of architectural and archaeological drawings, plans and maps, photographic prints, library books, and journals and periodicals.

Today, HES continues this work, and our archive and survey teams add new records to the archive every day.

What might you find in the archive?

Survey and recording: Survey and recording archives from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) 1908-2015 and Historic Environment Scotland 2015 onwards.
National, regional and specialist organisations: Archives from organisations merged into RCAHMS such as the Scottish National Buildings Record, the Ordnance Survey Archaeology Branch, the Scottish Industrial Survey and the Scottish Office Aerial Photographic Unit; and archives deposited by other organisations which relate to the historic environment, such as Northern Lighthouse Board, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and George Heriots Trust.
Archaeological and excavation: Records and archive material from excavations, surveys and research into human activity from the Mesolithic era to the present day. (These do not include actual finds from archaeological digs)
Architecture: Archives from practices and individuals, including papers, drawings, photographs, portfolios, books and models from firms based in Scotland spanning the 19th to late-20th century such as Sir Basil Spence, William Burn and Sir Robert Lorimer.
Photography: Archives from individuals such as Betty Willsher (historic graveyards), Tom E Gray (medieval carved stones) and Professor John R Hume (industrial); and historic photographic collections such as Aerofilms, Erskine Beveridge, John Forbes White, Scottish Countryside Commission and Scottish Power.
Culture and heritage: The Scran Collection of digital images and resources from museums, galleries, archives, the media and individuals across the UK which represents Scotland’s shared material culture and heritage. The Survey of Private Collections contains photographic copies of private collections relating to Scotland’s built environment.
Aerial photography: Historic aerial photographic collections, such as the Aerofilms collection, which includes photographs dating back to the 1920s. We also hold aerial survey photographs taken for the purposes of archaeological investigation.