Drawings Collection

Made up of a wide range of material dating from the 17th century to the present day, the drawings in the collection have been produced by artists, draughtsman, architects and archaeologists, as well as RCAHMS own staff.

The collection includes:

• Architectural drawings by architectural practices, engineering firms and other companies for buildings all over the world. We hold everything from single drawings relating to a building to comprehensive sets of drawings including early design ideas and detailed working drawings. The Lorimer and Matthew Collection holds more than 1,000 drawings for the Scottish War Memorial, Edinburgh and the Sir Basil Spence Archive holds more than 6,700 drawings for the Hyde Park Cavalry Barracks, London
• A plan of Thirlestane Castle, Berwickshire attributed to John Slezer, dating to the 1670s, one of the oldest drawings in RCAHMS collection
• The Northern Lighthouse Board collection of designs for lighthouses including many designed by the Stevenson family
• Archaeological excavation drawings from antiquarian research in the 1870s through to the most recent projects
• The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) drawings collection
• Lithographs, etchings and prints. These include topographical views of buildings and monuments of all periods
• Survey drawings, including measured drawings of buildings and monuments produced by RCAHMS surveys as well as by other survey programmes, such as the National Art Survey of Scotland