Clydesdale Bank Headquarters, 30-40 St Vincent Place, Glasgow

The Clydesdale Bank Headquarters, located at 30-40 St Vincent Place in Glasgow, was designed by John Burnet Sen between 1870 and 1873. This asymmetrical, seven-bay building showcases Venetian Renaissance architecture and features three storeys plus a basement. It is constructed from white sandstone ashlar, with a channelled ground floor and vermiculated quoins. The building has a mutule cornice above the ground floor, a moulded cill course on the second floor, and a main cornice adorned with modillions. A balustrade and dies with finials complete the design.

The main entrance bay is wider and slightly advanced, positioned off-centre to the right. It features a tripartite doorway with a semi-circular door flanked by polished granite columns with Ionic capitals. The entrance is embellished with heraldic carvings, various moulded bands, and a keystone depicting Father Clyde. Above the entrance, there is a round-arched window set in a tripartite panel, flanked by paired Ionic columns and topped with a broken-open segmental pediment that encloses a cartouche, with figures on either side and additional paired outer columns supporting statue figure groups.

The entrance bay has three second-floor windows divided by paired pilasters and columns. A moulded parapet with shell ornamentation sits above the main cornice, featuring a broken segmental pediment that clasps a plinth for an urn, with flanking pedestals topped with urn finials. Cupped roundels holding masques are found in the spandrels between the round-arched ground floor windows. The outer bay to the left contains paired arches, with the outermost serving as a door.

The first-floor windows are round-arched and divided by Ionic columns and pilasters, with architraves on the second floor that follow a similar pattern using Corinthian order. The outer left bay has paired Ionic columns on the ground floor and Corinthian columns on the second floor. The round-arched windows are in timber bipartite form, featuring slender cast-iron column mullions and stone lintels, with plate glass casement and sash and case windows.

Inside, the building boasts a square five by five bay Banking Hall, echoing Brunelleschi's Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence, with attached Ionic columns. The upper gallery mirrors this design with narrower arches and bipartite openings, a modillion cornice, and head roundels in the spandrels. The ceiling is segmentally arched and coffered, featuring an oval glass dome and decorative leaded glazing, along with a ribbed and glazed oval cupola. A fine consoled mahogany island counter enhances the interior space.