Alba Aosmhor | |
Executive agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 1991 |
Dissolved | 1 October 2015 |
Superseding Executive agency | |
Jurisdiction | Scottish Government |
Status | Abolished |
Headquarters | Longmore House, Edinburgh |
Website | historic-scotland |
Historic Scotland (Scottish Gaelic : Alba Aosmhor) [1] was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014, Historic Scotland was dissolved and its functions were transferred to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on 1 October 2015. HES also took over the functions of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. [2] [3]
Historic Scotland was a successor organisation to the Ancient Monuments Division of the Ministry of Works and the Scottish Development Department. It was created as an agency in 1991 and was attached to the Scottish Executive Education Department, which embraces all aspects of the cultural heritage, in May 1999. As part of the Scottish Government, Historic Scotland was directly accountable to the Scottish Ministers.
In 2002, proposals to restore Castle Tioram in the West Highlands by putting a roof back on were blocked by Historic Scotland, which favoured stabilising it as a ruin. This position was supported in an extensive local Public Inquiry at which the arguments for both sides were heard. [4] It has been implied that this dispute has led to a review of the operations of the organisation. [5]
After widespread consultation, Historic Scotland published a comprehensive series of Scottish Historic Environment Policy papers, consolidated into a single volume, in October 2008. [6]
The agency's Framework Document sets out the responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers and the agency's Chief Executive. [7] Its Corporate Plan sets out its targets and performance against them. [8]
Historic Scotland and the Glasgow School of Art's Digital Design Studio formed the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualization to promote the documentation and 3D representation of heritage objects, architecture, and environments with laser scanning and 3D visualization software. [9]
Historic Scotland had direct responsibility for maintaining and running over 360 monuments in its care, about a quarter of which are staffed and charge admission. These properties have additional features such as guidebooks, books, and other resources. Historic Scotland sought to increase the number of events run at its sites, most frequently designed to engage young people with history. Similarly, new museums and visitor centres were opened, notably at Arbroath Abbey and Urquhart Castle. There was also a hospitality section, which makes some properties available for wedding receptions and other functions.
Membership in Historic Scotland was promoted by the organisation, with benefits such as free entry to all their properties and over 400 events for the duration of the annual membership, as well as half-price entry to properties in England (under the care of English Heritage), Wales (under the care of Cadw), and the Isle of Man (under the care of Manx National Heritage), becoming free in subsequent years. Lifetime memberships were also available, and all members received the quarterly magazine 'Historic Scotland'.
The National Trust for Scotland is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to enjoy".
English Heritage is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts, and country houses.
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
This page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom.
Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, to make them available for the public to visit, enjoy, and understand their significance. Cadw manages 127 state-owned properties and sites. It arranges events at its managed properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks, and hosts an online shop. Members of the public can become members of Cadw to gain membership privileges.
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure".
The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1940, during the Second World War, to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. After the war, the ministry retained responsibility for government building projects.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. It is based in Aberystwyth.
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.
Loch Shiel is a freshwater loch situated 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Fort William in the Highland council area of Scotland. At 28 kilometres long it is the 4th longest loch in Scotland, and is the longest to have retained a natural outflow without any regulation of its water level, being 120 m (393 ft) deep. Its nature changes considerably along its length, being deep and enclosed by mountains in the north east and shallow surrounded by bog and rough pasture in the south west, from which end the 4 km River Shiel drains to the sea in Loch Moidart near Castle Tioram.
An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland, established on a provisional basis in September 1946, and incorporated as a company based on an “association not for profit” in June 1948, is a charitable non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in the Republic of Ireland. It considers itself the oldest environmental and non-governmental organisation in the country, and is somewhat similar to the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland but based more directly on the National Trust for Scotland. Its first president was the prominent naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger.
Castle Tioram is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is located west of Acharacle, approximately 80 km (50 mi) from Fort William. Though hidden from the sea, the castle controls access to Loch Shiel. It is also known to the locals as "Dorlin Castle". The castle is a scheduled monument.
Archaeology Scotland, formerly known as the Council for Scottish Archaeology (CSA), is a membership organisation which seeks to promote the understanding of archaeology in Scotland. This group works with lay people and academia to help care for the great history of Scotland's archaeological heritage. Their charitable and philanthropic work serves to enrich the story and deep history of Scotland. The organization is responsible for coordinating a number of archaeology related events, such as Scottish Archaeology Month and Adopt-a-Monument.
Europa Nostra is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant international bodies, in particular the European Union, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. It has consultative status with UNESCO and is recognised as an NGO partner.
Historic England is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens, advising central and local government, and promoting the public's enjoyment of, and advancing their knowledge of, ancient monuments and historic buildings.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) 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.
This article gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.
The restoration of castles and tower houses in Scotland, generally by private individuals and families, has been taking place for over a century and is of major significance in the field of historic buildings in the country, and sometimes a subject of controversy.