Heriot-Watt University Museum and Archives
Small university museum in the Cameron Smail Library telling the story of Heriot-Watt from its Edinburgh origins to a global university.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Heriot-Watt University traces its roots to the School of Arts of Edinburgh, founded in 1821 to educate the city’s working people. It later became a technical college and then a university, moving from Edinburgh’s Old Town to the Riccarton campus on the western edge of the city. The university marked its 200th anniversary in 2021.
The University Museum and Archive is on the ground floor of the Cameron Smail Library on the Edinburgh campus. With financial support from Museums Galleries Scotland, its displays follow the university’s development from its beginnings in the Old Town to its present international role. They also show how the campus and the communities around it have a history stretching back some 800 years, to the time of Robert the Bruce, and how care for the campus landscape is part of that heritage.
The museum is linked to a Search Room where anyone can consult the archive under guidance from staff. The archive holds committee minutes, accounts, photographs, film, plans, student work and society records from 1821 onwards.
Highlights
- Story of the university from the 1821 School of Arts to the present
- Campus and community heritage reaching back some 800 years
- Linked Search Room for archive records and images
- Virtual tour of the museum online
Permanent exhibition
- The University Museum – A display on the development of Heriot-Watt from its origins in Edinburgh’s Old Town to an international university, and on the long heritage of the campus and its communities.
- Operated by
- Heriot-Watt University
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Visitors with disabilities can use the accessible car park at Gate 10, next to the Centre for Sport and Exercise, and must display a Blue Badge; an accessible space can be reserved by contacting the university.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Several Lothian Buses routes, including the 25, run from the city centre to the campus every 10 minutes in the day and every 15 minutes after 8pm; the journey takes 30–40 minutes. From Haymarket station the 25 takes around 30 minutes. A tram runs from the airport to Haymarket.
By car
Free parking
Visitors should use free car parks A, B, H or J. Accessible parking is at Gate 10.
- Accessible parking
The campus is half a mile from Calder Junction on the A720 Edinburgh bypass and the A71. The museum is on the ground floor of the Cameron Smail Library.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | A virtual tour of the museum is available on the university website. The Search Room lets visitors use archive records and images with expert guidance. The curator can be contacted for appointments. |
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