Commercial Bank Buildings, 38 South Street, Perth, Perth, Perth and Kinross

Entry Name: Commercial Bank Buildings, 38 South Street, Perth

Listing Name: 38 South Street and 2 Princes Street (Former Commercial Bank)

Listing Date: 20 May 1965

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 385397

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB39647

Building Class: Cultural

Also known as: Perth, 38 South Street, Commercial Bank Buildings

ID on this website: 200385397

Location: Perth

County: Perth and Kinross

Town: Perth

Electoral Ward: Perth City Centre

Traditional County: Perthshire

Tagged with: Bank building

Description

David Rhind, 1856-8 (with later extension, see Notes). 3-storey, Florentine Renaissance Palazzo bank on prominent corner site. Stugged ashlar with raised in-and-out quoins. Base course; 1st floor moulded string course; eaves course; deep-set dentiled cornice. 4-window elevation to South Street, 5 to Princes Street. Round-arched openings to ground floor with moulded aprons, pilastered jambs and V-jointed heads with carved masques to keystones. Round-arched windows to 1st floor with spandrels and elaborately moulded cornices; smaller 2nd floor windows architraved with lugged corners. Chimney-stacks linked by round-headed arched arcade.

Margined plate-glass to ground; 8-pane glazing to timber sash and case windows with horns to 1st floor. Plate glass glazing to timber sash and case windows to upper floors. Grey slate.

INTERIOR: coffered plasterwork ceiling. Ground floor refurbished for commercial restaurant use.

Statement of Interest

No 38 South Street is a well-detailed, sophisticated example of the commercial work of eminent architect, David Rhind in the Florentine Palazzo style. Its Classical Italiante composition, with windows decreasing in size at each floor and strong horizontal emphasis, is well-suited to its prominent corner site and it forms an important part of the streetscape. The masqued keystone ornament and tripartite-arched chimney add further interest.

Rhind's first major commission was the Head Office of the Commercial Bank of Scotland in George Street, Edinburgh in 1843. He thereafter became architect to the bank, designing nearly all its branch offices, many of which mirrored the opulence of the head office in an astylar palazzo form as at Perth, Hawick and Jedburgh, the earlier ones being very similar to those designed by his pupil John Dick Peddie for the Royal Bank. Rhind's headquarters for the Central Bank at 48-50 St John Street in Perth(see separate listing) was built 10 years earlier and also provides a useful comparison.

List description updated at resurvey (2009).

External Links

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