| Activity | The Bank of England has had a presence in Scotland since 1940 when the Glasgow Office was set up to undertake the administration of Exchange Control in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Office was opened in premises at 145 St Vincent Street, under Controller W P Waller, although the initial space was insufficient and some staff had to be accommodated at 200 St Vincent Street. In 1943, additional office space at 145 St Vincent Street became available and was acquired by the Bank. In 1946 the Bank purchased premises at 24 St Vincent Place for £80,000, with the intention that the Exchange Control staff were to occupy the Ground and mezzanine floors and the other floors were to be rented out. Following conversion to meet the Office's needs, it opened for business at 24 St Vincent Place on 3 May 1949.
At the time of opening, there was no suggestion that the function of the office should be extended but, following the re-building of four of the old country Branches in the 1960s, the idea of establishing a Note Centre in Scotland gained ground. In 1969, the Clydesdale Bank revealed plans to redevelop an island site bounded by Buchanan Street, West George Street, Anchor Lane and St Vincent Place and offered the Bank of England 10,000 square feet of the new site at 21 West George Street. The Governors therefore agreed at the end of 1969 to set up a permanent Note Centre in Glasgow, incorporating the new Note Centre and the functions of the Glasgow Office. 10,000 square feet was comparatively small compared to the new country branches but thanks to the designs of local architect Walter Underwood, the space appeared to be feasible and Mr Underwood was appointed architect for the project and, after delays caused by planning issues, Sir Robert McAlpine and Sons Ltd (who had built the Bristol Branch and the Printing Works at Debden) were appointed as builders. The building was not completed until late 1979, by which time the office had been changed to Agency status, and the Note Centre opened in 1980. Unfortunately, due to the disappearance of exchange control functions in 1979, the decision was taken to close the Glasgow Note Centre in 1981.
The Agency's premises at 21 West George Street (opened less than 2 years before) were sold to The Royal Bank of Scotland, who also took on the surplus Bank staff following the closure of the Note Centre. From 1981, the Agency was based at 25 St Vincent Place. The Agency was later based at 19 Vincent Place, Glasgow G1 2DT under Agent David Shilson. From 2003 the new Agent was Tony Strachan. From 17 April 2008, the Agency moved to new offices at 177 West George Street. By 2009, the 23 - 25 St Vincent Place address had been converted into a wine bar and brasserie. |