Background
The Hannah Research Institute was established in
1928 as one of a collection of government-funded
but independent research institutes to promote
the scientific development of agriculture,
forestry and fisheries. The Institute’s initial
remit was to undertake research on dairying,
addressing specific problems associated with that
industry.
The
Institute developed a worldwide reputation for
its work and the natural progression of its
science meant that research of relevance to
agricultural animal science eventually expanded
into new areas of biomedical research and its
focus shifted to seeking to improve Scotland’s
and world health by exploring and explaining the
emerging links between lifestyle and lifelong
health and well-being.
This appeared to be more in line with the
direction in which government-funded research was
heading in recent years, given a lack of
political support for funding agricultural
research, but to no avail. Government funding in
the form of grant-in-aid from the Scottish
Executive Environment and Rural Affairs
Department (SEERAD) was withdrawn in 2006.
Institute scientists were offered transitional
funding to continue their research in the
university sector thereby discounting any
possibility of scientific activity continuing at
the Institute.
John Hannah had gifted the land on which the
Institute was established to further agricultural
research. It is the view of the Council of the
Institute that this can now be best achieved by
the development and sale of part of this land,
the proceeds from which will create a Trust Fund
to enable agricultural research to continue,
albeit elsewhere.
This web site shows the proposed plan for a small
scale new build development within the existing
envelope of the Institute. Plans for the
conversion of the Institute’s main building and
refectory into residential units and proposals
for Mount Hamilton House will be added to the
site in the near future.