Historic Environment Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) (Scottish Gaelic: Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Scotland with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS). Among other duties, Historic Environment Scotland maintains more than 300 properties of national importance including Edinburgh Castle, Skara Brae and Fort George.

Historic Environment Scotland

Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba
Longmore House in Edinburgh, headquarters of Historic Environment Scotland
Organisation overview
Formed	1 October 2015; 9 years ago (2015-10-01)
Preceding agencies	Historic Scotland Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland
Type	Non-departmental public body
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Headquarters	Longmore House Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Employees	1,500+ (incl. volunteers)
Minister responsible	Angus Robertson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture
Organisation executives	Hugh Hall, Chairman Katerina Brown, Chief Executive
Website	www.historicenvironment.scot

History

The responsibilities of HES were formerly split between Historic Scotland, a government agency responsible for properties of national importance, and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), which collected and managed records about Scotland's historic environment.^[1] Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014,^[2] the pair were dissolved and their functions transferred to Historic Environment Scotland, on 1 October 2015.^[3]

Historic Environment Scotland is a non-departmental public body with charitable status, governed by a board of trustees appointed by the Scottish Ministers. The body is charged with implementing "Our Past, Our Future", Scotland's historic environment strategy, and has responsibility for buildings and monuments in state care, as well as national collections of manuscripts, drawings and photographs. Beyond these collections, Historic Environment Scotland provides funding and guidance for conservation works and education across Scotland.^[4]

Historic Environment Scotland's first Chief Executive was Alex Paterson from 2016-2023,^[5] with his successor Katerina Brown appointed in September 2024.^[6]

Canmore was an online database maintained by Historic Environment Scotland until 2025 when it was replaced by Trove.^[7] Previously it was maintained by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. The National Collection of Aerial Photography is also now a sub-brand of HES.^[8] The collections are primarily stored in John Sinclair House and plans for a new collection centre, Archive House in Bonnyrigg, were announced in July 2023 with completion by 2026 anticipated. These plans were suspended in July 2024 due to escalating costs.^[9]

See also

• List of Historic Environment Scotland properties
• Listed buildings in Scotland
• Scheduled monument
• Scottish Ten
• NatureScot
• National Trust for Scotland
• Who Built Scotland
• Organisations which play a similar role to HES in the other countries of the United Kingdom:
  • Cadw and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
  • Historic England and English Heritage
  • The Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland (previously part of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency)