Archive pictures of Perthshire’s built heritage.

New online gallery of old photos documents the changing face of scotland’s architecture over decades

A host of old photos published online has opened a fascinating window on to Scotland’s past.

The images posted by Historic Environment Scotland National Record include a wealth of pictures illustrating the country’s built heritage.

Historic Environment Scotland is the public body responsible for preserving and promoting Scotland’s historic environment, from Skara Brae onwards.

The photos it has posted online from the Scottish National Buildings Record (SNBR) show how cities, towns and villages in Scotland have been transformed over the decades.

The SNBR was formed in 1941 in order to make an emergency record of Scotland’s historic architecture in case it was destroyed during the conflict.

Its work then continued after that when many buildings faced demolition or alterations.

The organisation existed until 1954 when it was taken over by the Ministry of Works before transferring to the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Among the photos from the vast archive available online include shots of the Victoria Royal Arch in Dundee taken just before it was demolished in 1963.

Dundee also features in 1964 photographs of the former Ward Mills.

These include shots of the interior of the building.

Other pictures include the Palace Cafe on Falkland High Street taken in 1963.

The East Neuk is also featured in a photo of Anstruther High Street taken in 1959.

Other notable buildings include the “House of the Turkish Consul” in Pitlochry, now better known as the Pine Trees Hotel.

There are also photos of Gardyne Castle in Angus dating from 1960.

The full gallery can be viewed online at https://canmore.org.uk/gallery.

There are also a number of other galleries exploring Scotland’s architectural heritage.

These include individual galleries on the history of Dundee, Perth and a number of other towns and cities.

The Dundee galleries features a host of fascinating images, including the designs for dormer windows in Morgan Academy and photos taken of the school after it was ravaged by fire in 2001.

The image was taken from an aerial ladder as part of a Threatened Buildings Survey.

Other images include a plan of Dundee drawn in 1776.