Over One Hundred Years of Banking in Juniper Green from 1898

The Commercial Bank on Lanark Road decorated for the 1953 Coronations celebrations

The Juniper Green branch of the Commercial Bank of Scotland opened in November 1898. Many mills along the Water of Leith had been operating in the valley from the sixteenth century, but until the mid-nineteenth century there were few houses at Juniper Green. By 1843 the village had sufficient population to support the newly formed Free Church situated on Lanark Road (see elsewhere on this website for more details of the arrival of the Free Kirk). But, in commercial terms, the most significant development came in 1874 with the extension of the Caledonian Railway's line through Juniper Green. The improved transport for both passengers and freight brought great prosperity which in turn prompted the construction, by 1900, of large, detached houses along both sides of Lanark Road and in the interior of the village at Belmont Road and Woodhall Terrace.

The rapid growth of the village attracted the interest of the directors of the Commercial Bank of Scotland. Founded in Edinburgh in 18 10, Commercial Bank of Scotland had long favoured a policy of increasing the number of its branches and decided to open an office at Juniper Green in November 1898. A property called Broombank, on Lanark Road, was purchased and entirely refitted to serve as both a bank branch and a manager's house. The first agent, or manager, was William Scott, who continued to hold the post for the following thirty-seven years.

The First World War and its aftermath had a profound effect on both the village and the Commercial Bank. Many bank clerks and officers of military age enlisted, including three members of staff from Juniper Green. The Commercial Bank was drawn into funding the Government's war loans and advances and note issue increased rapidly.

After the war, in 1920, the Edinburgh city boundary was extended to include Juniper Green, encouraging the development of housing on the north side of the village. The increasing prosperity of the area was again recognised by the Commercial Bank of Scotland which, in June 1927, opened a sub-branch at Balerno, under the charge of the manager of the Juniper Green office.

With the start of the Second World War, the Commercial Bank of Scotland was once more affected by wartime controls over foreign exchange and lending priorities and responsibility for the marketing and distribution of savings certificates and defence bonds. Large numbers of staff again joined up, including five from Juniper Green branch, and from 1942 Juniper Green came under the charge of the manager at the Colinton office. Indeed, the whole area was detrimentally affected by the closure of the railway line to passenger traffic in 1943.

After the war the future of the Commercial Bank of Scotland itself became increasingly uncertain. Other managers took over including Mr MacDonald and Mr Martine though the house itself at 548 Lanark Road was occupied by the Assistant Manager at Colinton, Mr Stewart and his family from the early 1950s until the early 1980s.

The original branch premises at 548 Lanark Road seen here in 1965

Despite its large number of branches, the Commercial Bank’s resources were modest and its interests undiversified. In 1959 the Commercial Bank merged with the National Bank of Scotland to form a new company, known as the National Commercial Bank of Scotland.

By 1960 the business at the Juniper Green branch had grown enormously and it became independent of the bank's office at Colinton. It also became increasingly clear that new premises were required for the branch. A suitable site was purchased in 1963, also on Lanark Road where the present branch building was constructed in the grounds of the house known as Montpelier. The new premises were occupied for the first time in 1965.

In 1969 the National Commercial Bank of Scotland amalgamated with The Royal Bank of Scotland to form The Royal Bank of Scotland Ltd. The new bank enjoyed over forty per cent of Scottish banking business. Thereafter, Juniper Green branch traded under the Royal Bank banner. The bank's representation in the locality changed during the early 1970s. The Balerno office became an independent branch in its own right in 1970 and the establishment of the new Heriot-Watt university at nearby Riccarton brought an opportunity to provide banking facilities to students on campus where a sub-branch was opened in 1973.

The old bank house restored to private ownership on the Lanark Road seen here in 2007

In 1988, Balerno once again became a sub-branch, and during the following year the branch premises at Juniper Green were refurbished and extended. Presently, over a century since it first opened for business, Juniper Green branch continues to offer a full range of banking facilities to the local community at 540a Lanark Road Edinburgh.