Welcome to RBS Heritage Online

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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.

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.

The 140 Characters project.
The 140 Characters project.

Latest news

29 March 2012: over a quarter of the way through 140 Characters

So far we've met an actress, an artist, a cheesemaking innovator, a shoemaker, an international athlete, two archaeologists, three soldiers and 40 bankers. Follow us on Twitter to find out who's next.

View our past 'Latest News' announcements.


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

15 May 2012 is the 165th anniversary of the death of the Irish nationalist leader and founder of The National Bank Daniel O'Connell. You can learn more about him on our featured page.
15 May 2012 is the 165th anniversary of the death of the Irish nationalist leader and founder of The National Bank Daniel O'Connell. You can learn more about him on our featured page.


RBS Heritage Online

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