The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive
non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of ...
of the
Scottish Government that was "sponsored"
inanced and with oversightthrough
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) 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. ...
, an
executive agency
An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...
of the Scottish Government.
As one of the country's
National Collections, it was responsible for recording, interpreting and collecting information about the built and historic environment. This information, which relates to buildings, sites, and ancient monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical interest (including maritime sites and underwater constructions), as well as historical aspects of the landscape, was then made available to the public, mainly at no cost.
It was established (shortly ahead of parallel commissions for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
) by a
Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law.
Royal warrant may refer to:
* Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...
of 1908, which was revised in 1992.
The RCAHMS merged with government agency
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) 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. ...
to form
Historic Environment Scotland
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, 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 me ...
, a new executive
non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of ...
on 1 October 2015.
History
The Royal Commission was established in 1908, twenty-six years after the passage of the
Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882
The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was). It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administ ...
, which provided the first state protection for ancient monuments in the United Kingdom, and eight years after the passage of the wider-ranging
Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1900
The Ancient Monuments Act 1900 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Britain.
Details
The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 had begun the process of establish ...
. Critics – including David Murray in his ''Archaeological Survey of the United Kingdom'' (1896) and
Gerard Baldwin Brown in his ''Care of Ancient Monuments'' (1905) – had argued that, for the legislation to be effective, detailed lists of significant monuments needed to be compiled; and had also made unfavourable comparisons between the policies of Britain and its European neighbours. Brown, Professor of Fine Art at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, explicitly proposed that the issues should be addressed by a
Royal Commission, comparable to the
Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. His suggestion was favourably received by
Sir John Sinclair
Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1754 – 21 December 1835), was a British politician, a writer on both finance and agriculture, and was one of the first people to use the word '' statistics'' in the English language, in ...
,
Secretary for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom
ga, Rialtas a Shoi ...
, and, following a brief period of consultation, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland was established on 14 February 1908, with Brown as one of its first Commissioners. The equivalent
Royal Commission for Wales was established in August 1908; and
that for England in October 1908.
Activities
The Commission was based in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
where it had a huge selection of photographs and drawings for consultation. It also published a range of books and documents on Scottish architecture and
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
. Study was also increasingly conducted of previously neglected industrial and agricultural constructions, as well as 20th-century buildings, including high-rise
tower blocks
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...
.
RCAHMS maintained a database/archive of the sites, monuments and buildings of Scotland's past, known as the
National Monuments Record of Scotland (NMRS). A growing proportion of RCAHMS's own survey material and material deposited in the archive by others was made available through online databases such as
Canmore Canmore may refer to:
* Canmore (database), a Scottish national online database of ancient monuments;
*Canmore, Alberta, a town in Canada;
*the House of Dunkeld, a royal house that ruled Scotland in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, including
**Mal ...
.
Since 1976, RCAHMS conducted intensive aerial survey of archaeological sites, buildings, landscapes and natural features. In addition to its holdings of its own (mainly oblique) aerial photographs, it held the National Collection of Aerial Photography, one of the largest and most important aerial imagery collections in the world, containing over 1.8 million aerial photographs of Scotland including large numbers of
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
oblique and vertical aerial photographs taken of Scotland during and in the years after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, as well as post-war
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...
, local and national government, commercial vertical aerial photographs, and over 10 million images of international sites as part of The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (TARA).
The RCAHMS in conjunction with
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) 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. ...
hosted a map-based
GIS portal called PASTMAP. This allowed
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) 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. ...
,
NMRS,
Scottish Natural Heritage
NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an Scottish public bodies#Executive NDPBs, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, ...
and some Local Authority Sites and Monuments data sets to be viewed together.
Other online resources managed by RCAHMS included Scran, a UK charity with a learning image service of over 367,000 images, clip art, movies and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media; and Scotland's Places, a partnership website giving searchable access to the collections of RCAHMS, the National Records of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland.
RCAHMS was one of the first national collections in Scotland to embed social media into its online services, enabling user generated images and information to be added to the national database Canmore. An outreach programme included publications, exhibitions, induction and training sessions for students and other groups, and a series of free lunchtime lectures, as well as daily Facebook and Twitter feeds.
From 2011, the RCAHMS maintained the
Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland on behalf of Historic Scotland. The register was formerly maintained by the
Scottish Civic Trust.
Under the terms of a Bill of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holy ...
published on 3 March 2014 RCAHMS would be dissolved and its responsibilities including the management of collections undertaken by a new executive
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of ...
to be called
Historic Environment Scotland
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, 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 me ...
, which would also take over the property management responsibilities of
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) 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. ...
. This occurred on 1 October 2015. A final publication entitled 'An Inventory for the Nation' was published in the same month, detailing RCAHMS' activities over the past century.
Area Inventories
Initially, RCAHMS recorded all buildings and monuments of note until the year 1707. This was later updated to 1805. The findings were published in a series of inventories. Changes in what constitutes a construction "of note", plus developments in how the public could access this information, led to the abandonment of the inventories after publication of the last
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
volume in 1992. Consequently, only approximately one-half of Scotland was covered by this method.
Although the volumes are now all out-of-print, they are available online on the Scotland's Places website, through most large public libraries, or via
Historic Environment Scotland
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, 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 me ...
.
* First Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of
Berwick (HMSO, 1909)
* Second Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ( ...
(HMSO, 1911)
* Third Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded b ...
(HMSO, 1911)
* Fourth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in Galloway, Volume I, County of
Wigtown
Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart ...
(HMSO, 1912)
* Fifth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in Galloway, Volume II, County of the
Stewartry of
Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
The town lies southwest of ...
(HMSO, 1914)
* Sixth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of Berwick (revised issue, HMSO, 1915)
* Seventh Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of
Dumfries (HMSO, 1920)
* Eighth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the County of
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the hi ...
(HMSO, 1924)
* Ninth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...
,
Skye
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...
and the
Small Isles
The Small Isles ('' gd, Na h-Eileanan Tarsainn'') are a small archipelago of islands in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. They lie south of Skye and north of Mull and Ardnamurchan – the most westerly point of mainl ...
(HMSO, 1928)
* Tenth Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the Counties of
Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbur ...
and
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...
(HMSO, 1929)
* Eleventh Report and Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in the Counties of
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...
,
Kinross
Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire.
History
Kinross's origins are connec ...
and
Clackmannan
Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. Th ...
(HMSO, 1933)
* Twelfth Report with an Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...
and
Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the ...
(HMSO, 1946)
** Volume I, Report and Introduction
** Volume II, Inventory of Orkney
** Volume III, Inventory of Shetland
* An Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments of the City of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
(with the Thirteenth Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1951)
* An Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments of
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and ...
(with the Fourteenth Report of the Commission, 2 volumes, HMSO, 1956)
* An Inventory of the Ancient and Historical Monuments of
Selkirkshire
Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...
(with the Fifteenth Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1957)
*
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
It borders Perth ...
. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments (with the Sixteenth Report of the Commission, 2 volumes, HMSO, 1963)
*
Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and ...
. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments (with the Seventeenth Report of the Commission, 2 volumes, HMSO, 1967)
* Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volume 1,
Kintyre
Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately nor ...
(with the Eighteenth Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1971)
* Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volume 2,
Lorn (with the Nineteenth Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1975)
*
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scot ...
. An Inventory of the
Prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
and
Roman Monuments (with the Twentieth Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1978)
* Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volume 3,
Mull,
Tiree
Tiree (; gd, Tiriodh, ) is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The low-lying island, southwest of Coll, has an area of and a population of around 650.
The land is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, and ...
,
Coll
Coll (; gd, Cola; sco, Coll)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and f ...
and Northern Argyll (excluding the early
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and later monuments of Iona) (with the Twenty-first Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1980)
* Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volume 4,
Iona
Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though the ...
(with the Twenty-second Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1982)
* Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volume 5,
Islay,
Jura,
Colonsay
Colonsay (; gd, Colbhasa; sco, Colonsay) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Arg ...
and
Oronsay
This is a list of islands called Oronsay (Scottish Gaelic: '), which provides an index for islands in Scotland with this and similar names. It is one of the more common names for Scottish islands. The names come from ''Örfirisey'' which transla ...
(with the Twenty-third Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1984)
* Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volume 6, Mid Argyll and
Cowal
Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde.
The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...
: Prehistoric and Early Medieval Monuments (with the Twenty-fourth Report of the Commission, HMSO, 1988)
* Argyll. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments, Volume 7, Mid Argyll and Cowal: Medieval and Later Monuments (HMSO, 1992)
A supplementary work entitled ''Late Medieval Monumental Sculpture in the West Highlands'' was published in 1977, augmenting the content of not only the contemporaneous Argyll volumes but the much earlier Outer Hebrides volume of 1928.
Three further publications, ''North East Perth: An Archaeological Landscape'' (1990), ''South East Perth: An Archaeological Landscape'' (1994) and ''Eastern Dumfriesshire: An Archaeological Landscape'' (1997) were appended to the series. As the titles suggest these were concerned with archaeological remains rather than significant above-ground structures. Unlike all earlier volumes, these publications used the boundaries of the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975.
The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...
. Hence 'Perth' refers to an area within
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland an ...
District rather than historic
Perthshire
Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...
. The Dumfriesshire volume related to both the eastern end of the historic county and the post-1973 district as the areas were identical. To date the Dumfriesshire volume is the only area to be revisited as part of a completely new inventory.
RCAHMS also published a series of lists covering archaeological sites and monuments which simply enumerated and identified, rather than interpreted, historic structures. As before, this series did not see completion. The series of 29 lists was begun in 1978 with the districts of Clackmannan and
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
within
Central Region and concluded with the
Easter Ross
Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.
The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constitu ...
area of
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the l ...
District of
Highland Region in 1989.
Commissioners and staff
As originally established, the RCAHMS was operated by a group of Commissioners, including a chairman and a Secretary. The Secretary was originally the person who wrote the Commission's report and undertook the required fieldwork, but later adopted a role similar to that of a chief executive. The chairperson always had a key role in the operation of the Commission, and, at one time or another, undertook the writing and editing of Commission publications. Commissioners were appointed by the Queen, advised by the
First Minister of Scotland
The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chair ...
, with all appointments regulated by the
Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland
The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (OCPAS) regulates and monitors the way in which ministerial appointments are made to the boards of public bodies in Scotland. The Office was founded in 2004, and is headed by the ...
.
Secretaries
*Alexander Curle (1908–1913)
*
William Mackay Mackenzie (1913–1935)
*Angus Graham (1935–1957)
*
Kenneth Steer
Kenneth Arthur Steer, (12 November 1913 – 20 February 2007) was a British archaeologist and British Army officer. During World War II, he saw active service in Italy and later served as a Monuments Man in Germany. From 1957 to 1978, he serv ...
(1957–1978)
*John Dunbar (1978–1990)
*Roger Mercer (1990–2004)
*Diana Murray
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This so ...
(2004–2015)
Chairmen
*
Sir Herbert Maxwell
Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, 7th Baronet, (8 January 1845 – 30 October 1937) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, artist, antiquarian, horticulturalist, prominent salmon angler and author of books on angling and Conservative politician who ...
(1908–1934)
*
Sir George Macdonald (1934-1940)
*
Sir John Stirling-Maxwell (1940-1949)
*
David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss
Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss and 8th Earl of March (19 January 1912 – 12 December 2008), styled Lord Elcho from 1916 to 1937, was a Scottish peer, landowner and conservationist. From 1946 to 1991, he served as chairman of ...
(1949–1985)
*
Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford
Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres, (born 5 March 1927), styled Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, is a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1955 to ...
(1985–1995)
*Sir
William Kerr Fraser
Sir William Kerr Fraser (18 March 1929 – 13 September 2018) was a British civil servant, who served as Permanent Secretary at the Scottish Office, and as Principal and later Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.
Early life
William Kerr ...
(1995–2000)
*Kathleen Dalyell OBE (2000–2005)
*Professor
John R. Hume OBE (2005–2015)
Commissioners
The Commissioners at the time RCAHMS was dissolved were:
* John R. Hume (Chairman)
* Gordon G T Masterton (Vice Chairman)
* Diana Murray (Secretary)
* Kate Byrne
* Tom Dawson
* Mark Hopton
* Jeremy Huggett
* John Hunter
* Paul Jardine
* Jude Quartson-Mochrie
* Elspeth Reid
Notable past Commissioners have included:
*
Charles John Guthrie, Lord Guthrie
*
Gerard Baldwin Brown
* Thomas H. Bryce (appointed 1908, died 16 May 1946)
* Francis C. Buchanan
*
William Thomas Oldrieve
*
Thomas Ross
* Alexander Ormiston Curle
* Sir George MacDonald (appointed 1923, chairman from 1934, died 1940)
*
Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar (appointed 1925)
* (appointed 26 January 1925, died 1944)
* James A. Morris (appointed 1932, died c1943)
* James Graham Callander (appointed 1934, died 1938)
*
Sir John Stirling-Maxwell (appointed 1934, chairman from 17 October 1940)
*
Sir Iain Colquhoun (appointed 1934)
*
Reginald Fairlie (appointed 1938, replacing Callander, died 1952)
*
V. Gordon Childe
Vere Gordon Childe (14 April 189219 October 1957) was an Australian archaeologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory. He spent most of his life in the United Kingdom, working as an academic for the University of Edinburgh and th ...
(appointed 6 May 1942, taking Sir George MacDonald's place, resigned on departure from Scotland in 1946)
*
Ian Richmond (appointed 25 April 1944, replacing J Curle)
*
Stuart Piggott
Stuart Ernest Piggott, (28 May 1910 – 23 September 1996) was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex.
Early life
Piggott was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, the son of G. H. O. Piggott, and was educated ...
(appointed 25 October 1946, replacing Bryce)
*
W. Douglas Simpson (appointed 5 December 1946, replacing Childe)
*
David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss
Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss and 8th Earl of March (19 January 1912 – 12 December 2008), styled Lord Elcho from 1916 to 1937, was a Scottish peer, landowner and conservationist. From 1946 to 1991, he served as chairman of ...
(appointed 1949)
*
Vivian Hunter Galbraith (appointed 27 February 1943, resigned 1955)
*
William Mackay Mackenzie (appointed 27 February 1943, replacing Morris)
*
Ian Gordon Lindsay
Ian Gordon Lindsay (29 July 1906 – 28 August 1966) was a Scottish architect. He was most noted for his numerous restoration projects, sometimes of whole villages but curiously was also involved in the design of several hydro-electric power sta ...
(appointed 4 October 1951, replacing AO Curle)
*
William Croft Dickinson (appointed 16 September 1952, replacing W Mackay Mackenzie, died 21 May 1963)
* George Patrick Houston Watson (appointed 31 December 1952, replacing Fairlie. Died 1959)
* Annie I. Dunlop (appointed 26 April 1955, replacing Galbraith?)
* Angus Graham (appointed 17 June 1960, replacing Watson)
*
Rosemary Cramp
*
Howard Colvin
Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840 ...
*
Gordon Donaldson
Gordon Donaldson, (13 April 1913 – 16 March 1993) was a Scottish historian.
Life
He was born in a tenement at 140 McDonald RoadEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1912 off Leith Walk in northern Edinburgh on 13 April 1913 the son ...
*
James Dunbar-Nasmith
Sir James Duncan Dunbar-Nasmith (born 15 March 1927) is a British conservation architect.
He was born in Devon,''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007'' the son of Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, (1883–1965) and ...
*
Archibald A. M. Duncan
*
Kenneth H. Jackson
*
Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford
Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres, (born 5 March 1927), styled Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, is a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1955 to ...
*
Leslie Alcock
Leslie Alcock (24 April 1925 – 6 June 2006) was Professor of Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, and one of the leading archaeologists of Early Medieval Britain. His major excavations included Dinas Powys hill fort in Wales, Cadbury C ...
*
Lord Cullen
*
T. C. Smout
Thomas Christopher Smout CBE, FBA, FRSE, FSA Scot, FRSGS (born 19 December 1933) is a Scottish academic, historian, author and Historiographer Royal in Scotland.
Early life
One of the five sons of Arthur Smout, Christopher Smout was educated at ...
Staff
Prior to the merger RCAHMS had a staff of around 110 based in their offices in Edinburgh, working within ten groups each with an operational manager, and these in turn sat within six departments:
*Survey and Recording
**Architecture and Industry;
**Data and Recording;
**Project Development and Communities;
**Landscape;
*Collections, including the
National Collection of Aerial Photography;
*Education and Outreach;
*Information Systems; and
*Corporate Affairs.
See also
*
Scran
*
History of Scotland
The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. North of this was Caledonia, inhabited by the ''Picti'', whose uprisings forced Rome' ...
*
Historic houses of Scotland
This is intended to be as full a list as possible of country houses, castles, palaces, other stately homes, and manor houses in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands; any architecturally notable building which has served as a residence for ...
*
Castles of Scotland
Scottish castles are buildings that combine fortifications and residence, built within the borders of modern Scotland. Castles arrived in Scotland with the introduction of feudalism in the twelfth century. Initially these were wooden motte-and- ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Historic Environment ScotlandFormer website link
Scotland's PlacesArea InventoriesNational Collection of Aerial PhotographyScran
{{coord, 55, 56, 27.37, N, 3, 10, 47.08, W, display=title
1908 establishments in Scotland
2015 disestablishments in Scotland
Architecture in Scotland
Executive non-departmental public bodies of the Scottish Government
Archives in Scotland
Organisations based in Edinburgh
Historical Monuments of Scotland
National Collections of Scotland
Book publishing companies of Scotland
Government agencies established in 1908
Government agencies disestablished in 2015
Scottish commissions and inquiries
Historic Environment Scotland