Historic Environment Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland’s historic environment. It was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Scotland with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Among its other duties, Historic Environment Scotland maintains more than 300 properties of national importance including Edinburgh Castle, Skara Brae and Fort George.

History

The responsibilities of Historic Environment Scotland 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, which collected and managed records about Scotland’s historic environment. Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014,^[1] the pair were dissolved and their functions transferred to Historic Environment Scotland on 1 October 2015.^[2]

Historic Environment Scotland is a non-departmental public body with charitable status, governed by a board of trustees appointed by 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.^[3]

Canmore was an online database maintained by Historic Environment Scotland until 2025, when it was replaced by Trove.^[4] It was until then 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 Historic Environment Scotland.^[5] The collections are primarily stored in John Sinclair House. Plans for a new collection centre, Archive House in Bonnyrigg, were announced in July 2023 with an anticipated completion date of 2026, but were suspended in July 2024 owing to escalating costs.^[6]