advice and services

Conservation, repair and maintenance of the built heritage all requires appropriate knowledge, skills and materials whether you are a specialist practitioner, building professional or a homeowner. We seek to provide best practice advice and guidance to those who need it at a level of technicality which suits their need.

The Enquiry Service

Enquiry staff can help answer your technical enquiries or direct you to a specialist. This information is intended to advise you on particular needs or to assist you in finding the correct approach to a problem or set of works.Details of training opportunities in traditional craft skills


Historic Scotland’s Conservation Bureau provides information on building craft training courses and other more specialist conservation disciplines. We are able to provide contact details of other organisations and partners who can provide additional information and advice.



We can provide details of contractors and consultants who have experience of working on Historic Scotland’s own properties or on projects  funded by Historic Scotland. This includes information on;

• historic building consultants – architects, engineers and other professionals with experience of historic structures.
• building contractors – general contractors, craftsmen and repair specialists with experience working on historic buildings. The range of skills includes roofing; stone and lime work; repair of sash and case windows and various trades from electrical contractors to thatchers and blacksmiths.
• suppliers – the quality of work and maintenance of historic buildings relies on sourcing appropriate materials of suitable quality. We can provide contact details for specialist suppliers of materials – from cast iron to traditional lime products, stone and timber.

We do our best to help enquirers but if unable to assist you ourselves, we will try to direct you to other relevant sources of information.

The Resource Centre

Our Resource Centre provides unique access to specialised technical information on all aspects of the built heritage.

Specialist and general journals concerning the built environment and Historic Scotland publications on particular conservation techniques are available to the public to review.

Our collection includes books, journals, videos, CDs and DVDs on the latest research in conservation and can be accessed by appointment at Longmore House, Salisbury Place in Edinburgh.

How to make an appointment

Please contact hs.resourcecentre@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or call 0131 668 8642 to make an appointment.

Education and Information

Outreach

The Technical Conservation Group participates in a variety of outreach activities to promote a wider range of issues relevant to the care of the historic environment. Our staff regularly participate in conferences and seminars, giving talks relevant to their research and specialisms. These might include technical seminars for local authorities or homeowners maintenance seminars.

Staff also promote good practice at construction industry and trade fairs.


We produce a wide range of publications to help keep the industry, practitioners and the public informed about our latest research findings and raise awareness in a variety of areas.

Specific technical issues, such as laser stone cleaning and fire safety management in historic buildings, are covered in our Technical Advice Notes (TANs). More general practitioner guidance on the care and maintenance of property is contained in our free publications for building owners, which include our Short Guide series and our new INFORM Guides.


If you would like to be added to the publications mailing list, or would like to amend your details, please contact Elizabeth McGrath on 0131 668 8638 or email elizabeth.mcgrath@scotland.gsi.gov.uk with details of your name, address, postcode, telephone number and email address.

Science Unit Outline

Within HSCB, the Science Unit carries out original scientific research into all aspects of historic architectural materials. The focus is firmly on research with clear practical applications for homeowners and local government bodies.

We collaborate with partners in academia, the private sector, and other heritage bodies including National Museum of Scotland and English Heritage on a wide range of projects.

Current research topics include:

• Scientific investigation of the energy efficiency of historic buildings.
• Architectural ferrous metals: systematic determination of optimum cleaning, repair and coating techniques.
• Examining the potential effects of climate change on building stone.
• Architectural paint research.

Contact: Dr Craig Kennedy, Head of Science. Craig.kennedy@scotland.gsi.gov.uk