Welcome to RBS Heritage Online

From RBS History

Jump to: navigation, search
Detail from a photographic montage showing the branch managers of The Royal Bank of Scotland, 1899. © RBS 2010.
Detail from a photographic montage showing the branch managers of The Royal Bank of Scotland, 1899. © RBS 2010.

At The Royal Bank of Scotland Group we’re proud of our long and extraordinary history, and we want to celebrate it. We’re also aware that in many cases, our history is your history too, because we’ve played a role in so many lives, communities and events over the past three and a half centuries.

The purpose of this site is to enable us to share information about our history with people who have a particular interest in some aspect of it. We also explain why we keep archives and how they contribute to fulfilling the Bank’s commitment to corporate responsibility.

Some of the information here is quite detailed, so if you are looking for a more general overview of the history of RBS, you may prefer to start by looking at the heritage pages of the Group’s website.

Microfilm reel. © RBS 2010.
Microfilm reel. © RBS 2010.

Latest news

11 August 2010: Our Edinburgh microfilm research facilities are now open, allowing researchers access to around 600 reels of microfilm covering historical records from several of our oldest and most interesting past constituent banks, including customer account ledgers of Child & Co and Drummonds Bank. You can learn more about how to visit us to carry out your research in our archives here.


How to use this site

You can find your way around this site either by searching or by browsing.

  • You can search by typing the word or phrase you want to find into the box on the left of the screen and clicking ‘go’ or ‘search’. ‘Go’ will take you straight to the page with that title, if there is one. ‘Search’ will take you to a list of all entries that contain the word(s) you have requested.
  • You can browse a list of banks and businesses that form part of our history. The pages you will find through this route contain historical information about banks and businesses, and also lists of our archives relating to them. You can learn how to enquire about or use these records in our section on how to use our archives.
  • You can also browse a list of places in the United Kingdom that have historical connections with our history. This list will lead you to pages telling the story of RBS or its constituents in a selection of towns, cities and villages across the country.

If you can’t find the information you need here, or you have a suggestion for a topic that should be covered on this site, please contact us.

Featured page

1 September 2010 is the 233rd anniversary of the introduction of Europe’s first multicoloured banknotes, issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland. You can learn more about the history of the Bank on our featured page, and more about our historic banknotes on RBS Group's website here.
1 September 2010 is the 233rd anniversary of the introduction of Europe’s first multicoloured banknotes, issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland. You can learn more about the history of the Bank on our featured page, and more about our historic banknotes on RBS Group's website here.


Retrieved from "http://heritagearchives.rbs.com/wiki/Welcome_to_RBS_Heritage_Online"

RBS Heritage Online

Personal tools