Royal Bank Of Scotland, 15 James Square, Crieff

The Royal Bank of Scotland occupies 15 James Square, Crieff, and represents a unified architectural composition developed in two distinct phases. The building is a 3-storey and attic, 6-bay hotel and bank, exhibiting French Second Empire detailing. The initial phase, constructed between 1871 and 1872, comprises the eastern 3 bays, including a prominent 5-stage tower. The second phase, likely designed by David Rhind around 1874, adds the remaining 3 bays to the west. The exterior is built of bull-faced ashlar with polished ashlar dressings, featuring raised channelled pilaster strips topped by finialled dies. Characteristic details include a deep base course, dentilled dividing course, a bracketed cill course on the first floor, a dentilled and mutuled eaves cornice, and a blocking course. Windows and doorways are round-headed, framed by lugged architraves, keystones, and pilastered stone mullions.

The south elevation's penultimate bay on the right features a keystoned, pilastered round-headed doorcase with a consoled balustrade, now housing a modern door and semicircular plate glass fanlight. A single window occupies the outer right, with regular fenestration above. The second-floor windows incorporate decorative cast-iron balconettes, while the attic windows have segmental-headed dormers. A tower is positioned off-centre to the right. The outer-left ground floor bay provides steps leading to a deep-set, 2-leaf panelled timber door surmounted by plate glass fanlight, with a cast-iron night safe box to the right. The centre and right bays incorporate windows, with the latter altered for a cash dispensing machine. The first floor presents a balustrade supported by four consoles, transitioning into an arcade of three pilastered, keystoned windows linked by a consoled semicircular pediment in the centre. Single, similarly-detailed windows frame the outer bays, appearing to extend the arcade and each topped by a triangular pediment. The second floor has three small windows, and three pedimented dormers, mirroring the first floor's design but without arcading or finials.

The tower has five stages. The first stage features a door and window flanking a deep corbel, leading to the second stage with an aproned canted window extending into the third. The fourth stage features a single window below the cornice and blocking course, with ball-finialled angled corners and a semicircular-pedimented dormer arising from the crested pavilion roof, accompanied by broad stacks to the returns. A modern open-domed metal rooftop cap tops the structure.

The east (Hill Street) elevation has an angled bay on the left with two windows to the ground and first floors, a blank second floor, and a prominent wallhead stack. Six symmetrical bays extend to the right, exhibiting largely regular fenestration. The centre tower bays are slightly advanced, rising to five stages and culminating in a pavilion roof and a centre dormer, mirroring the tower's description above.

Original timber sash and case windows are fitted with plate glass. The roof is covered with grey slates, and features cavetto-coped ashlar stacks with cans. Decorative cast-iron roof ridge brattishing adds to the building’s detailing.

Internally, the hotel area retains some good traditional decorative details, including decorative and plain plasterwork. A timber dog-leg staircase has square newels, turned balusters, and an early cage lift. Timber fire surrounds are also present. A stair window incorporates leaded multi-pane glazing and decorative margins. The banking hall features dado panelling and thistle details to the keystoned doorpiece.