Bank Of Scotland And Bank House, 7, 9 Invercauld Road, Braemar

This is a circa 1870 building, originally constructed as a bank and bank manager’s house, located on Invercauld Road in Braemar. It is a two-storey and attic structure with a raised basement to the rear due to the sloping ground. The building is arranged as a three-bay bank and bank house, built from grey, squared, and coursed granite with tooled dressings. The south-facing (principal) elevation features a central six-panel timber door with a simple rectangular fanlight above. An advanced gable bay is set to the right, with a canted bay window at ground level, and a gabled dormerhead breaks the eaves to the left. Segmental headed openings are a prominent feature, along with bipartite windows featuring stone mullions. The building has overhanging eaves and decorative King post timber bargeboards with iron finials to the gable apex. A low, near-square, single-storey addition with a part-glazed, pyramidal roof extends from the basement to the south.

The building has plate glass timber sash and case windows, and a grey slate roof. Two tall stacks flank the south gable, with a further gable stack to the north.

Internally, the former banking hall has been modernised. Access to the rear of the building was not possible in 2005. The bank house retains many original features, including a decorative stair balustrade, original shutters in situ and working order, and 4-panel timber doors. A coombed ceiling is present in a first-floor room, likely a former drawing room or parlour.

The building's prominent location on Invercauld Road makes it highly visible. Externally, it exhibits features typical of the area, particularly the quality of the granite construction and bargeboards. The segmental arched windows are a unique feature in Braemar, as are the decorative iron finials retained to all of the gables.

Historically, the basement was formerly used as the village butcher and has been converted into a restaurant; cobbles were discovered during this conversion, indicating possible former access for horses. The bank remains on the ground floor, while the rest of the ground and first floors are in residential use.