St Andrew Square, Edinburgh - Points of Interest

Points of Interest

Dominating the centre of St Andrew Square is the fluted column of the Melville Monument, commemorating Henry Dundas, the first Viscount Melville. The Melville Monument is surrounded by St Andrew Square Gardens, recently redesigned and opened to the public.

On the east side of the square stands the impressive mansion of Dundas House, built by Sir William Chambers for Sir Lawrence Dundas between 1772 and 1774. Once the intended site for St Andrew's Church, Dundas House became the head office of The Royal Bank of Scotland in 1825. Architectural features of Dundas House are represented today on the "Ilay" series of banknotes issued by the Royal Bank; the building's Palladian facade features on the obverse of each note, and the background graphic on both sides of the notes is a radial star design which is based on the ornate ceiling of the banking hall inside Dundas House, designed by John Dick Peddie in 1857.

A short distance from Dundas House, down George Street, is where St. Andrew's Church was built in 1784. In 1806 the head office of the British Linen Bank moved to St. Andrew Square. The building is now a branch of the Bank of Scotland. St. Andrew Square was also home to the National Bank of Scotland, which was headquartered at No. 42, until it merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1969.