One of the UK’s oldest heritage societies has launched a global £1.5 million campaign to secure a permanent home in Edinburgh, with a deadline of January 2027 to complete the purchase. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, founded in 1780 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1783, is seeking to buy a B-listed property on a site within Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once part of the historic southern gateway to the city. The building has been offered to the charity at a fixed price if purchased by January 2027. The Society is contributing £600,000 from its own investments and must raise the remaining £1.5 million.
For nearly 250 years, the Society has supported archaeological and historical research. Its early Fellows contributed collections that formed the foundation of the Scottish history and archaeology galleries for the National Museum of Scotland. Today it connects more than 2,700 Fellows across six continents and reaches millions of people annually through media and digital channels, including recorded lectures and open access publications.
Scotland’s first national heritage hub
Despite this historic role, the Society currently operates from an inaccessible top-floor flat within the National Museum of Scotland complex which limits its ability to engage with the public and collaborate across the sector. The project would establish Scotland’s first national heritage hub. Here, academics, visitors and anyone curious about Scotland’s past can explore their heritage and engage directly with the work of protecting Scotland’s history.
The campaign carries added significance as the Society approaches its 250th anniversary in 2030. Diana Murray CBE HonFSAScot, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, said: ”For centuries, this small corner of Edinburgh has been a gateway to Scotland’s past. We now have a rare and time-limited opportunity to secure this building and open our doors properly for the first time in our modern history, ensuring that Scotland’s past belongs to everyone, at home and across the world.”
Dr Simon Gilmour FSAScot, Director of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, added: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime alignment of opportunity, affordability and historic significance. The building sits at the very heart of Edinburgh’s cultural quarter, beside the National Museum of Scotland, within a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in an area attracting more than ten million visitors a year. We invite everyone who cares about Scotland’s past to help us secure it.”
Architectural and historic significance
Located on the corner of Bristo Port and Bristo Place, this B-listed property holds special architectural and historic significance, standing on ground that has witnessed more than five centuries of Scottish history. Bristo Place was once the southern gateway into Edinburgh, entered through Bristo Port, a fortified arch built in 1515 as part of the Flodden Wall. In 1503, Margaret Tudor entered the city here through a grand Renaissance arch to marry King James IV, marking the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Scotland and England. Nearby, in 1638, the National Covenant was signed at Greyfriars Kirk, another turning point in the nation’s story, and later the doomed Darien project was directed from a house on Bristo Place.
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is an independent membership charity which actively supports the study and enjoyment of Scotland’s past. The Society’s purpose is “to investigate both antiquities and natural and civil history in general, with the intention that the talents of humanity should be cultivated and that the study of natural and useful sciences should be promoted.”
Professor Ewan is Professor Emerita of Scottish Studies and History at the University of Guelph and one of Canada’s leading authorities on Scottish and medieval history and has been a Fellow of the Society since 1985. She said: “From Canada I have seen first-hand how deeply Scotland’s history runs in people across the world. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has been at the heart of Scottish historical scholarship for nearly 250 years, connecting researchers and heritage enthusiasts across the globe. A permanent home would transform what the Society can offer to that global community.”
Dr Lorna Barrow FSAScot, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, editor of the Journal of the Sydney Society for Scottish History, former researcher on the Australian edition of Who Do You Think You Are?, and recipient of the Celtic Council of Australia’s Duine Urramach award for services to Scottish heritage, said: “Scotland’s story belongs to people on every continent and nowhere is that truer than here in Australia where Scottish heritage runs deep in our national story. Helping the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland secure a permanent home is something the global Scottish community should rally behind.”
For more information, visit: www.socantscot.org.
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