Edinburgh, 37 St Andrew Square, British Linen Bank

On the S. side of the forecourt of the Bank stands Number 36 St. Andrew Square. The restrictions governing the architecture of the building to be erected here delayed the feuing of the site. It was only in 1781, when the feu was exposed to auction at the very low upset-price of £120, less than half of the sum being paid by neighbouring feuars, that it was eventually taken up; as the only bidders at this sale were the speculator John Young, who had just purchased Number 34, and a nominee of his own, the property fell to him at £125. Feeling that it would be difficult to dispose of a single large house, Young decided to build two houses on the site; he began to build in 1781,.and he was then discovered not only to be departing from the terms of his covenant but actually to be encroaching upon the property of Sir Laurence Dundas, his neighbour on the N. An action followed in the Court of Session, but the differences were ultimately adjusted and the work was allowed to proceed. Young copied his pattern to the best of his ability, but although identical elements of design were similarly applied in both buildings some subtle difference in proportion makes Crosbie's house the more distinguished of the two. Obvious differences are the provision of two entrances from the street, situated respectively at either end of the façade, in place of a central doorway; and the reduction in the number of pilasters upon the N. or exposed side to two, set at the corners on a high, continuous plinth. Between the pilasters only the upper member of the cornice returns and, where the full entablature is employed above the E. pilaster, it has an awkward return to the E. The masonry of the N. side is droved ashlar; that of the E. side is plastered and is probably of rubble.

Despite all his precautions Young apparently had difficulty in disposing of his new building, having to let it for use as an hotel. But in 1785 he managed to sell it, without much profit if not actually at a loss, to the eighth Earl of Dalhousie, whose Countess received the "life-rent use" of it. As it happened she outlived her husband by ten years, and at her death in 1807 her son, the ninth Earl, sold it in the same year to the present proprietors, the British Linen Bank, making a profit of £2,687 10S. on his father's outlay. The Disposition by this Earl to the Bank describes the building as "the large dwelling-house or lodging . . . consisting of a sunk storey, three other storeys and garrets ... with the cellarage made under the pavement, with the stables, coach house and other offices built to the back thereof." It would thus appear that the building had not, so far, been occupied as two houses. The Bank moved in in 1808; it had expressly undertaken the burden of maintaining the front and N. side in statu quo. By 1825 it had acquired the three houses adjoining on the S. and had thrown out a circled addition behind Numbers 36 and 37, probably for a telling-hall. In 1816 it "resolved to remove the three houses facing the Square, south of the Pillared house," and to erect a new telling room behind with suitable accommodation in front.* The new building was occupied on 29th May, 1851. It included a rectangular wing which may still be seen extending from the S.E. corner of Number 36 where the circled projection of 1825 had previously been attached.

As the building now stands it communicates on the S. with the new premises opened in 1851, and contains five rooms on each of the two principal floors with one staircase at the S.W. corner and another inside the N. gable. The basement contains a kitchen, laundry, pantry, scullery and lavatory, as well as two vaulted rooms in the S.E. extension, each of which has a wine-cellar adjoining it. None of the rooms is of special interest. The open area and the cellarage mentioned in the Disposition of 1807 still exist, but the outbuildings at the back of the house have been removed.

RCAHMS 1951, visited c.1940

*this and much of the previous information has been supplied by the Bank from its Minutes and Titles.

Addyman Archaeology undertook a programme of monitoring as part of the redevelopment of the Category A Listed Buildings at 37-39 St Andrew Square in Edinburgh’s New Town.

The monitoring of the ground breaking works did not reveal any archaeology predating the construction of the New Town. The excavations revealed further evidence of the transformations that 37-39 St Andrew Square underwent through the years, mostly relating to the new bank modification of the 1840s.

Information from Alice Amabilino and Antoine Ruchonnet (Addyman Archaeology) December 2020.OASIS ID: addymana1-411107

NT 25703 74095 A programme of historic building recording and monitoring was undertaken, between January 2019 and December 2020, as part of the redevelopment of the Category A Listed Buildings at 37–39 St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh’s New Town. The recording of the underlying masonry revealed three main phases of the building’s history. The original, pre-1807, building was found to survive to the N. When the new bank building was built by David Bryce in the 1840s, the northern building was partially transformed and the southern building was demolished, with some stones being reused in the fabric of the new structure. Finally, there were some 20th-century changes, particularly the building of the canteen in the courtyard, which has been removed by the current refurbishments.

The monitoring of the ground-breaking works did not reveal

any archaeology predating the construction of the New Town. The excavations revealed further evidence of the transformations that 37–39 St Andrew Square underwent through the years, mostly relating to the new bank modification of the 1840s.

Archive: NRHE (intended) Funder: Gleneagles

Antoine Ruchonnet – Addyman Archaeology

(Source: DES Vol 22)

OASIS ID: addymana1-411107