Scotland’s oldest heritage charity has launched a £1.5m campaign to secure a permanent home in Edinburgh ahead of its 250th anniversary.
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is a membership organisation working to support the national and global research and enjoyment of Scotland’s past.
Its current operations run from an inaccessible top-floor flat within the National Museum of Scotland complex, limiting its ability to engage with the public and collaborate across the sector.
If the society meets its fundraising goal, the project would establish Scotland’s first national heritage hub. Academics and visitors would use the space to learn about and explore Scottish heritage and engage directly with the work of protecting Scotland’s history.
The organisation is seeking to purchase a B-listed building at the corner of Edinburgh’s Bristo Port and Bristo Place. Bristo Place was historically the southern gateway into the city and is now part of a cultural quarter which attracts more than 10 million visitors each year. The building is offered at a fixed price of £2.1m until January 2027.
The society was founded in 1780 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1783, with its early fellows contributing collections that formed the foundation of the National Museum of Scotland’s Scottish history and archaeology galleries.
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Today, the society connects more than 2,700 fellows worldwide, facilitating research through grants and awards, advocating for heritage and sharing knowledge through its programme of lectures and resources.
The organisation is contributing £600,000 from its own investments and must raise the remaining £1.5m by January 2027. The campaign carries particular significance as the society approaches its 250th anniversary in 2030.
Diana Murray, 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.”
The society’s director Simon Gilmour 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.”
All donors will also be recognised in a special edition of the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the society’s peer-reviewed journal that has been published since 1851.
Interested parties can find more information, donate or discuss a major gift via the society’s website.
