New website explores Renfrewshire heritage

The new digital portal by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), trove.scot, brings together HES’s collections of information in one place.

The website contains approximately three million records, covering over 5000 years of Scotland's history.

Jewellery box from Dumbarton Castle (Image: Supplied) This includes designation records of important historic sites and buildings, a catalogue of Scotland’s archaeology and built heritage, and more than 2000 culturally significant objects from HES’s properties.

Users can also access educational and archival images and media from SCRAN.

The website allows people to learn more about significant buildings.

Paisley Abbey (Image: Supplied) Other highlights include a wooden jewellery box made in the early 1800s by French prisoners of war held at Dumbarton Castle during the Napoleonic Wars, and archive aerial images of local landmarks such as Paisley Abbey from the Aerofilms Collection.

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.

Stone from Dumbarton Castle (Image: Supplied) "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 to dig into Scotland’s past and see what they can discover with the new platform."