Stirling City Heritage Trust at 20

The Trust was officially formed in December 2004 as one of five City Heritage Trusts including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Inverness with Glasgow and Perth following later to form the Seven City Heritage Trust network. Our launch event was at Argyll’s Lodgings in May 2004 with Provost Colin O’Brien and Trust Chairman, Philip Cleghorn.

The CHTs were established by Historic Environment Scotland (then Historic Scotland) with the aim of delivering focused investment in the cities in partnership with local authorities.

When first set up in 2004, we were based within Stirling Council offices before moving to our own office in 2014. At this time, the Traditional Buildings Health Check (TBHC) was underway and we needed larger premises. Since 2019, we have been located at the wonderful charity hub at the Barracks on Forthside Way.

SCHT is an independent company limited by guarantee (SC277033) and a registered Scottish Charity (SC037888).

Our Vision

The Objects for which the Trust was established and which still stand today are:

“To promote and encourage, either alone or in conjunction with others, the protection and preservation of the historic, architectural and landscape heritage within the Stirling Council Area (as defined in Section 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994) by any means, all for the benefit of the general public now and in the future.”

We concentrate our work on investing in historic environment projects which contribute to the economic regeneration and resilience of Stirling’s city centre and make Stirling City a better place to live, visit and invest. We also have a strong focus on promoting understanding and appreciation of Stirling City’s historic built environment together with identifying skills gaps and supporting initiatives to tackle this.

Our work is certainly varied and we deal with many different organisations and people including local, regional and national bodies.

Stirling City Heritage Trust Staff and Trustees

Stirling War Memorial during restoration project

34 King Street during repair works funded by the King Street Funding Initiative.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe & External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, officially launched the TBHC scheme at Cowane’s Hospital, Stirling.

Operating the Trust

Our first Trust Manager was Colin Tennant, who moved on in 2007 and now works at Historic Environment Scotland. Jane Nelson and Sonya Linskaill then job-shared the role for many years before the current incumbent, Lindsay Lennie took over in January 2020.

The Trust Managers have been supported by staff in a variety of roles dealing with grants, outreach, office management and the Traditional Buildings Health Check. Those who have left us have taken up various jobs in the heritage sector including at HES and NTS but we also have a number of long-standing staff including Lindsay who has been working with SCHT since 2010, and our Grants & Outreach Officer, Rachael Purse who join in January 2020. Our most recent and youngest team member, Callum, is our first ever Heritage Trainee.

The Trust could not operate without the voluntary Trustees who give up their time to oversee our operations. Some of our Trustees have been with us for many years including our current Chairman, David Black, who joined in 2007 and has been Chairman since 2013. Other long-standing Trustees include Councillor Jim Thomson, Dr Mary Taylor and Michael Wright. Our strong and committed Board of Trustees help to guide the organisation and offer support to the staff.

What we do

The Trust uses funds from HES and Stirling Council to deliver our aims and objectives of protecting the historic environment of Stirling. Our focus has been very much on the City although more recently we have expanded the TBHC to Bridge of Allan and Dunblane.

We deliver repair grants, offer advice and support education through an array of outreach events. We also pride ourselves on our partnership working and liaise with other groups in the Stirling area to protect Stirling’s rich heritage. We have repaired everything from a fountain in Kings Park to major tenements in King Street. One of our early repair projects was the distinctive John Allan building at 55 Baker Street.

The unique TBHC service has been a tremendous success with around 500 members in 10 years and almost 300 buildings inspected. Every year we provide expert advice on how to undertake repairs and this is the core of what we do, supporting people to care for their traditional buildings.

Kings Park fountain

55 Baker Street

18 Main Street Cambusbarron after works

Traditional skills outreach to schools

100th Traditional Building Health Check inspection

What’s happening in 2024?

As part of our big birthday celebrations we will be looking back on the past two decades, reflecting on what we have achieved and celebrating our work. We will have blogs, a 20 year report and are planning a celebratory event later in the year. We hope that you will join us during 2024 as we look back on some wonderful projects and partnerships and look ahead to new and exciting developments. Our new 20 year logo includes elements of Stirling's built heritage, drawn by local artist David Galletly.