Historic Environment Scotland is a non-departmental government body responsible for the marketing, conservation, and interpretation of Scotland's built environment.
HES is responsible for some 300 heritage sites, among them Edinburgh Castle, Craigmillar Castle, Linlithgow Palace, and Holyrood Park. It also manages 5 million archive items (manuscripts, photographs and drawings), and 55,000 records of Scotland's heritage buildings and sites.
The agency straddles a variety of spheres including managing records and archives, public education, building conservation, training crafts people, cultural dissemination, tourism, and commerce.
For archivists and researchers, the HES portal provides access to datasets, records, and document downloads.
HES was formed in 2015 through the amalgamation of government agency Historic Scotland with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
Political status
Historic Environment Scotland is a non-departmental government body, governed by a board of trustees appointed by Scottish ministers. In keeping with other cultural institutions like the National Galleries, it has charitable status.