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Mark Hopton, an accredited conservation architect, works almost exclusively on projects involving the repair and adaptation of historic buildings. He has been a partner in LDN Architects (formerly Law & Dunbar-Nasmith) since 1999. Major conservation projects that he has led or is currently leading include Stanley Mills in Perthshire, Newhailes in East Lothian and Parliament House in Edinburgh. Mark Hopton joins the existing eight Commissioners and one Chairman in their role to oversee the progress of work at RCAHMS and advise on current and future projects.

Mark Hopton also serves on the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Conservation Committee and was a member of the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland from 2000-2003. He has been a Member of the Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland (HEACS) since 2003 and has been its Vice-Chair since 2006.

Dr Kenneth Arthur Steer, CBE, BA, PhD, FSA, FSA Scot, FRSE
Secretary of RCAHMS from 1957 to 1978

Dr Kenneth Arthur Steer, who died in Cheltenham on 20 February 2007, was born in November 1913. The son of a headmaster, he was brought up in Rotherham and attended Wath Grammar School, before reading history at the University of Durham. Graduating in 1935, he remained there to undertake doctoral research on Roman County Durham, for which he was awarded a PhD in 1938. While a student, he excavated at Rudston Roman villa in East Yorkshire, with Arthur Woodward, and on Hadrian's Wall with Eric Birley and Ian Richmond. In 1938 Steer began his career with the Royal Commission, having applied for, and been appointed to, the newly created post of Assistant Archaeologist.

During the Second World War the work of the Royal Commission was scaled down, and Steer was redeployed, in the first instance, to the Scottish Office, before being commissioned into the army in 1941. Like many archaeologists who served in the forces during the war, he was trained in aerial photographic interpretation, and was appointed as an Intelligence Officer on campaigns in Africa, Italy and Germany. He took part in the landings at Salerno and Anzio, rising to the rank of major and was twice mentioned in dispatches. At the end of hostilities in 1945, and while awaiting demobilization, he served as a Monuments and Fine Arts Officer for the North Rhine Region of Germany.

After the war, Steer returned to RCAHMS and, from 1947, he worked with Angus Graham (then Secretary) and the newly appointed archaeologist, R W Feachem, and later A MacLaren, on the Inventories of Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire and Stirlingshire. These were the first areas where aerial photography was utilised, Steer's army training in aerial photographic interpretation being harnessed to the scrutiny of the RAF photographs of the Border Hills, which resulted in the discovery of large numbers of enclosed and unenclosed timber-built Iron Age settlement sites.

The destruction of archaeological monuments as a result of wartime military construction programmes, the expansion of afforestation and changes in agricultural practices during and after the war prompted Steer to champion a more rapid form of survey than was possible in the inventory programme - The Survey of Marginal Lands - which was carried out in conjunction with inventory work from 1950 until 1955. The theme of threat-related survey was one that Steer returned to in the early 1970s.

On the retirement of Angus Graham in 1957, Steer was appointed Secretary of RCAHMS. As such, he was instrumental in one of the most significant periods of growth of RCAHMS, absorbing into the Commission the former Scottish National Buildings Record to create the NMRS in 1966, and establishing the Threatened Buildings Survey following the passing of the Town and Country Planning Acts in 1969 and 1972. In the early 1970s Steer responded to the renewed threats posed to rural archaeological sites as a result of urban growth, expanding agriculture and the rapid development of commercial forestry by creating two permanent archaeological posts in the Commission. This response was strengthened in 1977 by the establishment in RCAHMS, and with enthusiastic support from Steer, of a new rapid field-survey team, under the aegis of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and funded by what is now Historic Scotland, to carry out work in those areas of Scotland most at risk from the destruction of unrecorded archaeological monuments. Despite Steer's early demonstration of the potential of aerial photography as an important component in archaeological field survey, it was not until 1976 that he oversaw the establishment of RCAHMS' own aerial survey programme, which was to play such a pivotal role in the development of prehistoric archaeology in southern and eastern Scotland in the 1980s and 1990s.

Under Steer's guidance the Inventory programme included the completion of work in the counties of Stirlingshire (1963), Peeblesshire (1967) and Lanarkshire (1978) and the move westwards into Argyllshire, where he was responsible for the publication of Kintyre (1971) and Lorn (1974). Throughout his tenure as Secretary, Steer maintained his research interests in the Roman period, undertaking excavations at the Roman forts at Oakwood (Selkirk), Lyne (Peeblesshire) and Mumrills (Stirling), as well as the Antonine Wall 'expansion' at Bonnyside (Stirling) and the Iron Age settlement at West Plean (Stirling). Survey in Argyll sparked an interest in medieval stone carving, resulting in the publication, with J W M Bannerman, of Late Medieval Monumental Sculpture of the West Highlands in 1976.

Steer served on a number of committees, including the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, of which he was President from 1972-5, the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland and the Scottish Field School of Archaeology. His scholarship was acknowledged by being invited by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle to deliver the Horsley Lecture in 1964 and by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland to give the Rhind Lectures in 1968.

Steer married Rona Mitchell in 1941 and, following her death in 1983, Eileen Nelson in 1985 (d. 1999). He retired as Secretary in 1978 and thereafter lived in Gloucestershire, close to his daughter, Penelope.

Fourteen stunning images from RCAHMS ever-growing collections are on show in a new exhibition at Glasgow International Airport from 23rd of February 2007.

The exhibition showcases historic and contemporary photographs from all over Scotland and covers all areas of RCAHMS work including aerial photography and images of monuments, archaeology, architecture, industrial heritage.

The exhibition can be found on the first floor of the terminal building opposite the Business Works Station.

Thursday 1 March - Friday 2 March 2007
The Lighthouse
11 Mitchell Lane
Glasgow

Scotland's architecture and built environment shape our culture; both old and new buildings contribute, creating our sense of place, influencing how the people of Scotland see themselves and how others see us. For young people, learning about the built environment can be a rich and inspiring experience; it is an opportunity to explore, learn from and appreciate Scotland's past; it can equip those involved with the skills to engage in the current debate on architecture; and it can raise aspirations, equipping our young people with the skills and knowledge to preserve, design and construct for the future. Learning about the built environment is a great chance for young people to acquire new skills for life and work, ensuring we can grow the already rich base of talent, preserving, designing and constructing at home and abroad. Architecture and the built environment also support creativity and innovation, consistent with Scotland's vision of becoming a creative hub.

This conference brings together a range of professionals with an interest in young people, learning and skills, and the built environment in Scotland. Not only does it offer you a great opportunity to explore new approaches to engaging young people in the built environment, but it is an opportunity to begin to 'build up connections' with others at the conference. The day and a half will include contributions from inspiring speakers, an interactive workshop and an opportunity to share experiences and learn from others. Delegates will have the opportunity to learn about the Scottish Government's recent review of their policy on architecture and its impact on education, including A Curriculum for Excellence.

Who is this conference for?

Education professionals who are interested in the built environment as a resource and process for learning:

• Creative Links Officers
• Cultural Coordinators
• Curriculum Development Officers
• Careers Scotland Enterprise Officers
• School Management and Teachers

Local Authority Officers with responsibility for innovation, creativity or enterprise.

Built Environment Professionals with an interest in or remit for education.

Education officers in local and national public institutions with an interest in the built environment.

People who want to learn from and be inspired by best practice examples of engaging learners with the built environment past, present and future. Others are welcome to attend but we suggest you check before booking that the conference and proposed network is relevant to you.

Download conference programme: PDF (73KB)

Booking Information
Delegates who book by Friday 8 December will receive a special Resource Pack, which includes various publications celebrating Scotland¹s architecture and built environment, as well as a guide to involving young people in school design. The fee for the conference is £47 (£40 plus £7 VAT). We are hoping you will join us for dinner on Thursday 1 March 2007. The cost is £35.25 per person (£30 plus £5.25 VAT), which includes dinner and a drink.

Go to http://www.buildingconnections.co.uk/booking/booking.php to book online or contact project@thelighthouse.co.uk

This conference is funded by:
AHSS, CITB-Construction Skills, The Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government

Conference partners:

The remains of settlements and landscapes of the medieval and later periods form a key part of Scotland’s rural heritage. They represent a major national asset and reflect a crucial period of Scottish history. Scotland’s Rural Past aims to raise the awareness of this fascinating resource by encouraging local communities throughout Scotland to discover more about their local heritage and help protect it for the future. Survey and recording of abandoned settlements and farmsteads, along with research of written records and place-names will help link local people to their landscape and their past.

Scotland’s Rural Past is the result of over a decade of detailed work on the future of medieval and later rural settlements. Cultural heritage agencies across Scotland have defined the need to improve our understanding of this key element of our nation’s historic environment and encourage its conservation in a way that engages local people. Volunteers will be given the opportunity to learn new skills with which to explore historic rural settlements and this will enable local people of all age groups to become more aware of their historic environment its relevance to Scottish history.

Over the next five years, forty local projects will be set up across every region of Scotland. Most of these projects will involve archaeological fieldwork, identifying and recording rural settlement remains. Within each project there will also be scope for developing other activities in partnership with local people. These may include researching aspects of local sites through documents, or organising the collection, copying and identification of old photographs of rural settlements, for example, and other opportunities for involvement will develop throughout the project. Full training, support and encouragement will be offered to interested local groups and individuals.

The project has been developed through the Historic Rural Settlement Trust with the support of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Historic Scotland (HS), the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), the Museum of Scottish Country Life, the Association of Regional and Island Archaeologists, and the Council for Scottish Archaeology. RCAHMS agreed to become the lead body in a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Major funding support has also been given by HS, NTS and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

For further information about this project, please contact Tertia Barnett at srp@rcahms.gov.uk

Project partners:

The Dumbuck crannog excavations in 1898-9, caused one of the longest-running and most vitriolic controversies in Scottish archaeology. The excavation was recorded in detail in colourful pictures by William Donnelly. This book tells the story of the excavations, the ensuing controversy and the enduring mystery of Dumbuck crannog.

To purchase a copy of this publication (price £7.50 + £2 postage for UK orders; postage and packing for non-UK orders will be charged at cost price), contact RCAHMS directly at +44 (0)131 662 1456 or email info@rcahms.gov.uk. For a full list of RCAHMS publications visit the Publications List.

The Northern and Western Isles are dotted with islands called ‘Papay’ or ‘Pabbay’. What do these strange names mean? The report published on 'The Papar Project' website is the first stage of an attempt to find an answer. It focusses on all the places in the Northern Isles of Scotland (Orkney and Shetland) and Caithness which have the name Papay, meaning ‘the island of the priests’ and Papil meaning ‘the settlement of the priests’. By gathering together all the evidence for the history of these places, and of the archaeology round about, especially surviving ecclesiastical sculpture, it is hoped that we will be better able to make some assessment of the association with Celtic priests which the name suggests.

Phase 1 of this project has been funded by a Larger Grant of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, awarded to Dr. Barbara Crawford of the Dept. of Medieval History, University of St. Andrews, Professor Ian Simpson of the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, and Beverley Ballin Smith of Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD). The website has been produced in conjunction with RCAHMS.

Open 'The Papar Project' website in a new window.

The secrets of Ancient Britain are to be revealed in a revised Historical map and guide from Ordnance Survey.

Aimed at anyone with an interest in the early history of Britain – from schoolchildren through to archaeologists and tourists – the map helps bring the past to life.

Information on the map includes ancient roads and place names – as well as comprehensive features and illustrations on many aspects of life in the period, including land use and settlement sites. Photographs, showing how many of the sites look today, are also used to give context.

The map is created in conjunction with The National Monuments Record of English Heritage, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. It features the whole of Great Britain on a double-sided sheet and shows the detailed history of ancient Britain – including the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and early Medieval periods – against a backdrop of modern Ordnance Survey mapping.

"As well as dramatically changing the format of this map, we’ve given it a fresh new look – and a bright front cover," says Ordnance Survey’s Emma Redgrave. "It’s an extremely useful educational tool – but it can be used in many other ways too. Britain is blessed with a wealth of interesting places to visit – many with high historical significance. This map gives a real insight into such sites. Including a timeline of the key historic dates, events and archaeological evidence, the map can act as a quick historical reference guide as well as a scholarly tool."

The Ancient Britain map and guide joins another in Ordnance Survey’s historical map series. The other, called Roman Britain, shares the same format and style. They both cost £6.25 and illustrate the geographical distribution of some of the most important visible ancient monuments of Great Britain set against Ordnance Survey 1:625,000 scale mapping.

Emma Redgrave says: "Both maps complement the OS Travel – Tour map series which are based on popular tourist areas and include essential tourist information to help you get the most from your trip."

All the maps are available from all major Ordnance Survey stockists or by ordering direct from Ordnance Survey’s online leisure map shop at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/leisure

The essays in this volume constitute a major reassessment of the role of architecture as an expression of lordship and status among the Scottish nobility, ecclesiastical as well as secular, between the twelfth and the seventeenth centuries.

Fifteen studies of a selection of families or groups explore how building patronage on the part of these elite classes was linked to their social, economic and political activities, and how it made manifest the organisation and structure of lordship throughout this period.

Founding their work upon the strong twin traditions of Scottish genealogical and antiquarian research, the contributors bring modern techniques of historical, archaeological and art-historical enquiry to bear upon their subjects, illuminating a number of key general themes such as family or kindred styles in building, patrons’ motives, and changes in the function and purpose of the buildings which reflected changing social needs, attitudes and taste.

This publication, which is edited by Richard Oram and former RCAHMS Head of Architecture Geoffrey Stell, can be ordered online from the publisher Birlinn and is priced £20 (including P&P). It can also be ordered through your local bookseller.

The new Chairman of RCAHMS was announced on Monday 18 April by Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson.

He is Professor John Hume who holds Honorary Professorships at the Universities of Glasgow and St Andrews and is a former Senior Lecturer in Economic History at the University of Strathclyde and a former Chief Inspector of Historic Buildings at Historic Scotland. Professor Hume has published a wide range of books and articles on the industrial archaeology and historic buildings of Scotland. Find out more about the Commissioners.

The appointment will be for five years and will run from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2010. The post is part-time and unpaid. Professor Hume holds no other Ministerial appointment. The Ministerial public appointment was made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if there is any to be declared) to be made public. Professor Hume has not declared any political activity in the past five years.

Scotland's built environment connects directly with every aspect of our daily life. In it we live, work, learn, worship and play. It represents the people of Scotland over thousands of years, it is our heritage and our culture.

RCAHMS can provide you with a rich source of information and a huge selection of drawings and photographs. In the Exploring Your Heritage resource you will find a range of examples showing how our material can be used. These examples should give you an idea of the information we can provide and the questions we can answer.

The resource has been created as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund assisted project that aims to educate and inspire the public about their built environment. The project is also designed to offer guidance and suggestions on how the resources of RCAHMS can be used. The project has produced an exhibition that will be displayed around Scotland at nine venues.

The Exploring Your Heritage booklet offers examples and information on how to use RCAHMS resources. If you would like a copy of the booklet please contact us.

Download the booklet in English as a PDF file:    1.3MB
Download the booklet in Gaelic as a PDF file:    827KB   |    4.08MB.
To view a PDF file you will need to have a copy of Adobe Reader on your computer. If you do not already have a copy, it can be downloaded from Adobe's web site: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html

Please note that RCAHMS can only accept enquiries in English.

Tha an leabhran A’ Rannsachadh do Dhualchais a’ toirt eisimpleirean agus fiosrachaidh dhuibh air ciamar a chleachdas sibh na stòrasan aig RCAHMS.

Luchdaich-a-nuas an leabhran sa Ghàidhlig mar faidhle PDF:     827KB   |    4.08MB.
Airson coimhead ri faidhle PDF feumaidh Adobe Reader a bhith air a’ choimpiutair agaibh. Mura h-eil lethbhreac agaibh dheth mar tha, gheibhear e bho làrach-lìn Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html

Thoiribh fa-near nach urrainn don Choimisean ceistean a ghabhail ach anns a’ Bheurla.

On Tuesday 13 July Alun Pugh AM, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language, launched the National Monuments Record of Wales’s new online database - Coflein. Coflein is the first product of a ground-breaking partnership between RCAHMS and its sister body, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW).

Download Alun Pugh's full speech (38KB) 
Download Alun Pugh's Statement on the Historic Environment (61KB) 

Launch at the Scottish
Parliament.

Dundee University Press and RCAHMS held a reception at the Scottish Parliament last week to celebrate the recent launch of Scotland's newest academic press, Dundee University Press (DUP) Ltd and the first title produced under this imprint, 'The Architecture of Scottish Government: From Kingship to Parliamentary Democracy' edited by Miles Glendinning and sponsored by RCAHMS.

'The Architecture of Scottish Government: From Kingship to Parliamentary Democracy' is an extensively illustrated book - a historical overview of Scottish buildings of government and assembly from the Middle Ages to the present day - which sets Scotland's new parliament in the broader context of the nation's architectural and social history. In sharp contrast to the traditional Victorian and early twentieth-century concept of the grand, monumental parliament building standing self-centred and in isolation, it shows how parliaments have formed just one element in a complex and constantly changing mosaic of buildings of legislation and administration, both national and civic. And it demonstrates how this architectural complexity has mirrored the ever-shifting patterns of Scottish society itself. In 'The Architecture of Scottish Government' the evolution from feudalism to Presbyterian imperialism and, in turn, to modern social democracy is, literally, inscribed in stone - in the great halls of kingly power as much as in the town halls of Victorian civic pride and the towers of twentieth-century welfare administration.

Co-authored by Miles Glendinning of RCAHMS, Aonghus MacKechnie (Historic Scotland), Richard Oram (Stirling University) and with an appendix by Athol Murray (formerly National Archives of Scotland), this book is available to purchase for £30.00 from the Dundee University Press website.

"The Architecture of Scottish Government is a fascinating and stimulating account of Scotland's government buildings. Academically authoritative but fully accessible to the layman, it should be the book displayed on the coffee tables of the nation's legislators" - Holyrood Magazine, 8 November 2004.

- PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SURVEY HAS PASSED -
RCAHMS is part of HEIRNET: the Historic Environment Information Resources Network. HEIRNET is interested in how you use the Internet to learn about the Historic Environment. We would appreciate a few minutes of your time to complete this questionnaire so that we can find out about HEIRNET web users and their requirements - you could win a PDA. HEIRNET will use the information you supply to help to improve their web resources in the future.

Please complete the HEIRNET questionnaire for a chance to win a PDA!

- PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE QUESTIONNAIRES HAVE PASSED -
The creation of a Graveyard Inventory, listing all graveyard and cemetery sites in Scotland, has been identified by the Carved Stone Adviser Project as being potentially beneficial to groups and individuals interested in the recording, conservation and management of graveyards.

RCAHMS is carrying out a feasibility study, commissioned by Historic Scotland, to ascertain the format that such an inventory should take. The study will also identify the sources of data for inclusion, compile a sample database for three specimen areas, and produce a final report to facilitate the completion of the Inventory.

To help us to ensure that the Inventory will meet the needs of its future users, it would be appreciated if you could complete this short questionnaire. It should only take a few minutes of your time. Previous knowledge of, or specific interest in graveyards is not required.

· Open the Graveyard Inventory Feasibility Study questionnaire in a new window.

The following questionnaire is from the Carved Stone Adviser's Scotland's Historic Graveyards Project. Again, it should only take a few minutes of your time. The results from this questionnaire will be published on the Carved Stone Adviser Project website at www.scottishgraveyards.org.uk. 

· Open the Scotland's Historic Graveyards Project questionnaire in a new window.

Model of Dollan Baths,
East Kilbride. SC883762

Photographs after
treatment. DP002705

Two new entries have been added to our Exhibition Highlights section, which show examples from the work carried out by RCAHMS, along with items from our collections.

Dollan Baths: the Buchanan Campbell Collection consists of approximately 11,000 drawings, of which 5,481 items have been catalogued as part of the Scottish Architects' Papers Preservation Project (SAPPP). Approximately 1,275 drawings dating from c.1961 to 1969 comprehensively document Campbell's best known project, the Dollan Baths, Brouster Hill, East Kilbride, which was the first Olympic-sized swimming pool to be built in Scotland, and constructed principally of pre-stressed concrete. Find out more on the Exhibition Highlights page.

Conservation of Lorimer & Matthew Photographs: the Lorimer & Matthew Collection, catalogued and conserved as part of the Scottish Architects' Papers Preservation Project, consists of 35,220 items, which reflect Lorimer's position as one of Scotland's leading architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection comprises 33,000 drawings and 2,200 photographs ranging in date from the 1890s to the 1960s. The main proportion of photographs in the Collection reflect Lorimer's work during the 1920s as a designer of war memorials, the largest of which, and perhaps his best known work, was the Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle (c.1919-27). In 2004, a small group of photographs from the Collection were selected for conservation. Find out more on the Exhibition Highlights page.

    
Volume 1   Volume 2

'Scotland from the Air 1939-49 Volume 3: Catalogue of Royal Air Force Oblique Aerial Photographs 1945-9 held in the Collections of RCAHMS' is the third in a series of catalogues designed to draw attention to particular collections of early aerial photographs held in the archives of RCAHMS.

It provides a guide to some 19,000 oblique air photographs taken by the Royal Air Force during the preparation of the National Air Photographic Survey in the period 1945-9, immediately following World War II. An introduction sets out the background to this National Survey, which also includes a collection of over 263,000 overlapping vertical images at a scale of 1:10,000. The emphasis here, however, is placed on the oblique photographs which were taken at a lower level and offer a unique view of urban and industrial Scotland in a period of post-war transition. An illustrated section, focusing on selected military, industrial, engineering and architectural themes, is followed by a gazetteer which lists over 300 oblique photographic sorties.

The catalogue is 64 pages long and contains over 65 images. Price £5.00 (plus £2.00 UK postage and packing). The first of the catalogues in this series was published in 1999 and highlighted photographs of Scotland taken by the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. The second catalogue, published in 2000, featured RAF wartime photographs taken between 1939 and 1945. Copies of all the catalogues are available from RCAHMS. Find out how to order RCAHMS publications on the Publication page.