The Bank of Scotland was established in 1695 by an Act of Parliament of Scotland to develop trade with other countries and create a stable banking system in Scotland. They were the first commercial bank to issue paper currency in 1696. The bank was based in the capital, Edinburgh, but was able to expand across 27 branches in Scotland between 1774 and 1795.

There are two undated and unsigned drawings for a Bank of Scotland building by the Adam office in the Soane collection. These comprise an elevation for the front of a bank and a plan for the principal floor. It is not known if these designs were ever carried out, or where the proposed building was supposed to be. Bolton suggests that the bank was likely to have been designed for a site in Edinburgh. King suggests the designs may have been for The Mound, a sloped site to the south of Princes Street connecting the Old and New towns. The Bank of Scotland had been searching for a new site in Edinburgh for some time, and eventually bought this land in 1800 and appointed Robert Reid and Richard Crichton to design the new building. Without basement plans or sections, it is not possible to confirm if these drawings were for this specific site. It is also possible that the designs could relate to the other branches that were opened across Scotland in the late-eighteenth century. There is no further information, although the Adams' association with the Governor of the bank at the time, Henry Dundas, could have played a part in them being asked to design a new building. A proposed date of 1788-93 for the drawings has been suggested by the Bank’s archivist, as detailed in King, which coincides with the dates of the bank’s expansion towards the end of the eighteenth century.

Literature: A.T. Bolton, The Architecture of Robert and James Adam, Volume II, Index, 1922, p. 59; D. King, The Complete Works of Robert & James Adam and Unbuilt Adam, Volume 2, 2001, p. 54; A. J. Youngson, The Making of Classical Edinburgh 1750-1840, 1966, pp. 160-162

Louisa Catt, 2023