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High Life Highland Conservation Service

Accredited conservation studios providing expert care for archive and museum collections and historic artefacts, across the Highlands and wider Scotland.

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08 Sep 2026

High Life Highland Conservation Service provide accredited conservation services for archive, museum, and heritage collections across the Highlands and beyond. Our fully equipped studios are based at the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness and the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore, supporting High Life Highland’s museums, archives, and external clients.

Our work is guided by the principle that prevention is better than cure. We deliver conservation treatment, preventive conservation, and professional advice for documents, photographs, books, parchment, and museum objects. Services include assessment, cleaning and repair, specialist packaging, environmental monitoring, integrated pest management, and exhibition support.

All conservation treatments are carried out by professionally trained, Icon-accredited conservators using reversible, sympathetic methods and archival-quality materials. In addition to caring for public collections, we offer consultancy and treatment services to local authorities, heritage organisations, and private individuals, ensuring Scotland’s material heritage is preserved and accessible for future generations.

Conservation treatment

We provide conservation treatment for archives, library material, and museum objects, including paper, books, parchment, photographs, and mixed-material artefacts. All work follows accredited professional standards and emphasises minimal intervention, reversibility, and long-term preservation.

Preventive conservation

Our studios offer expert advice on storage, handling, environmental control, and integrated pest management. Preventive conservation underpins all our work, reducing risk and slowing deterioration before treatment becomes necessary.

Collections care

We support museums and archives with collections surveys, condition assessments, rehousing programmes, and display preparation, helping organisations manage and care for collections sustainably.

Exhibitions and display

Advice on exhibition planning, object preparation, mounts, materials, and environmental conditions to ensure collections are displayed safely and responsibly.

Consultancy and advice

We provide professional conservation consultancy to heritage organisations and private clients, including project advice, specifications, and collections care planning.

The Scottish Catholic Archives is a three year project to clean and re-house the collection

The Scottish Catholic Archives is a three year project to clean and re-house the collection

The collection is folded, ranging from pendant seals attached to parchment documents, parchment documents with no seals, paper scrolls, paper documents with wafer and applied seals. These are being cleaned, flattened by chamber humidification, stabilised and housed in custom made boxes.

Letter gift from Mary Queen of Scots to Archibold 4th Earl of Argyll 1546

Letter gift from Mary Queen of Scots to Archibold 4th Earl of Argyll 1546

The Mary Queen of Scots document was part of the Argyll Sponsorship Project to support conservation. The document arrived very weak from mildew, with areas missing. The paper has been infilled from the reverse using Shoin Bis 40gsm Japanese paper, the letter has been lined with 5gsm Tengucho repair tissue.

Chivas Brothers Day Book No.28

Chivas Brothers Day Book No.28

A project that involves refurbishing the Chivas Brothers book collection. From consolidating “red rot” on the early 19th century leather, re-sewing volumes, carry out internal paper repairs and re-backing with new good quality bookbinding leather.

Roman Dipper (Inverness Museum)

Roman Dipper (Inverness Museum)

Fragmentary tin bronze vessel with a fine dark green patina over much of the surface but with areas of active corrosion. The dipper was cleaned, stabilised, lacquered then reassembled. The thin body fragments had no substantial edges, so additional support was needed to facilitate reassembly. The techniques used were reversible.

Jacobite targe (Inverness Museum)

Jacobite targe (Inverness Museum)

Leather cover with impressed designs and studs. Front surface cleaned to remove dirt, grease and old polish. To the reverse, only 40% of the original leather cover remained. The leather fragments were humidified, weighted and flattened. A new backing was prepared, dyed; new pieces adhered under the original leather.

 

Accredited Members

Richard Aitken ACR

Richard Aitken ACR

Richard Aitken ACR is Senior Conservator with High Life Highland. He joined the Highland Archive Service in 2009, having previously worked for West Yorkshire Archive Service. Richard achieved Icon accreditation in 2010 and later completed an MSc in Preventive Conservation at Northumbria University in 2013. He has extensive knowledge and experience in archive and library conservation and leads preventive conservation activity across Highland collections.

Richard became an instructor in 2010 on the Archives and Records Association Conservation Training Scheme on modules introduction and maps & plans.

Jeanette Pearson ACR

Jeanette Pearson ACR

Jeanette Pearson ACR is an accredited conservator specialising in Archaeological and Object conservation with High Life Highland. Based at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery and at the Highland Folk Museum, she delivers conservation treatment, advice and surveys for museum collections.  Jeanette works to accredited standards, using sympathetic and reversible conservation approaches to promote the long term care and conservation of collections supporting exhibitions, displays and loans’.

 

Client testimonials

We approached the High Life Highland Conservation Service in 2019 to provide us with an estimate to clean, flatten, treat and re-house the Menzies of Pitfodels Writs collection.

After a few years The Scottish Catholic Archive received funding to begin making this important Scottish Catholic Archive collection accessible.

Donna Maguire
Archivist and Records Manager to the Bishops Conference of Scotland

Argyll Estates Archives have used High Life Highland Conservation Service and Richard Aitken since 2015. We are happy to acknowledge their expertise in the field of archival conservation. Our relationship started with a Heritage Lottery project titled Written in the Landscape, which included cleaning, conserving and packaging our extensive map and plan collection. Since then, High Life Highland Conservation Service have been involved in several conservation projects.

Alison Diamond
Archivist, Argyll Estates Archives

The High Life Highland Conservation Service have provided an excellent service over the four years they have been working for us. Initially a site visit to appraise the Chivas Brothers collection, they have since been carrying out paper conservation treatments and bookbinding techniques to our important collections. Chivas Brothers would heartly recommend High Life Highland Conservation Service for their professional expertise.

Robert Athol
Archivist

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