Royal Bank Of Scotland, 40 High Street, Banff

The Royal Bank of Scotland, at 40 High Street, Banff, was designed by James McCallum and built in 1937, drawing inspiration from Scottish 17th-century architectural details. It is an asymmetrical, two-storey, five-bay bank with a three-bay return gable facing Strait Path.

The building’s materials are varied. A deep black polished granite base course supports a tooled ashlar sandstone first floor, with some coursed rubble elsewhere. The rest of the building is harled, with generous use of tooled and polished ashlar dressings. The two outer bays are slightly advanced; the right bay contains the main bank entrance, while the left bay leads to legal offices above the bank. Both entrances feature moulded doorpieces, and the main bank entrance is topped with the carved crest of the National Commercial Bank, flanked by sidelights. The fenestration is irregular, with three central ground floor bays; the first floor above the bank entrance has a bipartite window. The return gable to Strait Path has three ground floor and two first floor windows. The ground floor windows have margined glazing with eight-pane upper lights. The first floor windows are sash and case, with long and short margins, eight-pane upper lights, and a single pane in the lower section.

A pronounced moulded cornice runs between the ground and first floors of the right advanced bay, extending along the Strait Path gable. The steeply pitched roof is covered with Cornish brown/grey slate, with wallhead, ridge, and mid-roof stacks. Five carved 17th and early 18th-century monogrammed pediments and armorials, originally from the house of Thomas Ogilvy which formerly occupied the site, have been re-set in the south return gable.

The interior joinery and woodwork were completed by Scott Morton, Tynecastle Works, Edinburgh, while the plasterwork was by A Finnie and Co, Edinburgh. The large banking hall occupies most of the ground floor and is lit by windows on the east, west, and north sides. The uninterrupted ceiling is supported by hexagonal polished wooden columns, and all the banking hall woodwork is made from Honduras mahogany. Original features include a panelled banking counter with small carved panels depicting hunting, shooting, and fishing, and bronzed railings to the counter, with stiffeners featuring small Scottish lion and saltire finials. A deep moulded, foliated plaster ceiling frieze and a panelled dado complete the banking hall. The interior face of the main entrance door has a moulded doorpiece.

The manager's office features a panelled dado, a dated (1937) chimneypiece, and panelled cupboards, all made from Austrian oak. The first-floor offices have panelled dados, doors, and original chimneypieces of Columbian pine.