36 St Andrew
Square, Edinburgh, EH2 2AD
0131 523 3636
Sir
Lawrence Dundas made his fortune supplying goods to the British Army
during their campaign against the Jacobites in 1745 and during the
Seven Years War (1756-1763). He branched out into banking, shipping,
sugar plantations and property.
In
1772 he purchased land at 36 St Andrew Square for £800 and employed
royal architect, Sir William Chambers, to build a Palladian villa as
his private mansion modelled on Marble Hill House in Twickenham.
When
Sir Lawrence died in 1781, his son Thomas had no wish to live in the
Edinburgh house – he hardly needed it, as he inherited £900,000
and a portfolio of eight properties – and sold it to the
Commissioners of Excise.
In
1825, The Royal Bank of Scotland bought Dundas House for £35,300 and
later added a domed banking hall with a star-adorned roof.
It
is still a working branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland today with
currency exchange service and cash dispensers if you need an excuse
to gaze at the architecture.
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