Edinburgh history: 3 million records of Scotland's past now available with just a click

With the help of trove.scot, users in Edinburgh can now delve into the heritage on their doorsteps, using a wealth of information stored in one convenient place.

From standing stones to skate parks, trove.scot contains more than 5,000 years of Scotland’s history in approximately three million records.

The Scotsman building under construction is one of many pictures avalable through the new digital portal | HES

It combines designation records of Scotland’s most important historic sites and buildings,; the catalogue of Scotland’s archaeology and built heritage,; more than 2000 culturally significant objects from HES’s properties; and educational and archival images and media from SCRAN.

The website invites users to discover a new side of Edinburgh and explore gems in the HES collection, such as a penguin made from a whale tooth, on display as part of the maritime collection at Trinity House.

A collar belonging to Greyfriars Bobby is among the historical items that can be viewed | HES

Archival imagery includes a picture of Greyfriars Bobby’s collar from the 1870s, while historical photographs feature some of Edinburgh’s famous landmarks, including a view of Grassmarket from 1910 and the construction of the Scotsman building from 1901.

trove.scot aims to make information more accessible than ever before, providing an exciting new resource for hobbyists, educators, historians and heritage professionals alike.

Using filters, keyword and map searches, users can now unearth a range of detail from HES’s different sources in a single search.

This view of the Grassmarket from 1910 is also in the collection | HES

Katerina Brown, chief executive of HES, said: “We are excited to be bringing heritage even closer to people’s everyday lives with this new platform.

"trove.scot will make it easier to learn about the heritage and historic environment that surrounds you, whether that is the listed buildings on your street or archive images of historic events that shaped communities.

“It trove.scot marks one of the largest investments in our programme to improve and enhance digital access to information on the historic environment, and increase the number and diversity of people who engage with Scotland’s history and heritage.

“We hope that by making the vast store of information we hold more accessible, trove.scot will encourage more people will to dig into Scotland’s past and see what they can discover with the new platform.

"Of course, the launch is just the beginning, and we’ll continue working hard behind the scenes to bring more exciting innovations to service.”