Board of Manufactures

The Royal Institution, Edinburgh (now the Royal Scottish Academy building), was commissioned and owned by the Board of Manufactures. It served as the head office of the board from 1826 until its demise in 1906, and as home to several learned societies.

During the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, Scottish industrial policy was made by the Board of Trustees for Fisheries, Manufactures and Improvements in Scotland, which sought to build an economy complementary, not competitive, with England. Since England had woollens, this meant linen.

The board was established in 1727, with the purpose of dispersing grants to encourage the growth of the fishing and manufacturing industries.[1]

When state regulation of the linen industry was abolished in 1823, the focus of the board turned to the decorative arts and the improvement of fine arts education. The board had established the Trustees Drawing Academy of Edinburgh in 1760, to improve industrial design, and in 1906 the board's remaining functions were transferred to the trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland by the National Galleries of Scotland Act.[2]

  1. ^ "Scottish government records after 1707". Edinburgh: The National Archives of Scotland. 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  2. ^ "National Galleries of Scotland Act 1906". Retrieved 2012-12-15.