Messrs. Drummond, Bankers is a formerly independent
private bank in the United Kingdom that is now part of
NatWest Group.
The Royal Bank of Scotland incorporating Messrs Drummond, Bankers is based at 49
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
in central London. Drummonds is authorised as a brand of The Royal Bank of Scotland by the
Prudential Regulation Authority.
History
Andrew Drummond (1688–1769), a goldsmith, founded the bank in 1717.
The bank remained within the Drummond family until 1924, when it became known as the Drummonds Branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The bank was the Royal Bank's first acquisition south of the Scottish border and continued to be managed by a board of local directors until the 1960s.
In 1992, RBS Holt's branch in Whitehall was absorbed by the London Drummonds branch; it continues to operate as
Holt's Military Banking, based in
Farnborough, offering personal banking tailored to the needs of navy, army and air force officers. At the same time, the Royal Bank of Scotland revived Drummonds as a specialist in private banking.
The bank offers a variety of services to its private clients, including wealth and asset management. It has been based at its headquarters since 1760. Prior to 1758, the site was occupied by the townhouse, Naunton House. In 1758 the Westminster Bridge Commissioners purchased Naunton House and its neighbouring houses, for the purpose of widening the street. The surplus property was sold to Drummonds for £1,100. The building was reconstructed from 1877 to 1881;
Admiralty Arch
The Admiralty Arch is a historic landmark building in London, providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, London, The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. Commissioned by King Edward VII in mem ...
was built and
The Mall laid out nearby shortly after. The building is listed Grade II on
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
's
register of listed buildings.
The bank's focus on
wealth management
Wealth management (WM) or wealth management advisory (WMA) is an investment advisory service that provides financial management and wealth advisory services to a wide array of clients ranging from affluent to high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-hi ...
led it to create a specialised department for
UK National Lottery winners separate from its more traditional practices.
Clients
As is tradition with most London private banks, account holders' identities are kept a bank secret. Some historical clients have though been revealed, including a variety of distinguished figures: HM
King George III and other members of the royal family,
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
,
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
,
Beau Brummell,
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
,
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
and
James Adam,
Capability Brown,
Josiah Wedgwood, and
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...
. The bank also holds accounts for organisations and institutions such as the
Conservative Party and
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
.
Royal account holders
Both
Coutts & Co. and Drummonds have received royal
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
. King George III moved his account from Coutts to Drummonds during his reign as he was displeased with Coutts for bankrolling the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
from his personal account. Messrs Drummond & Co. honoured the wishes of the King, but unsurprisingly when the Prince of Wales became
King George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
in 1820, he moved the royal account back to Coutts. More recent known members of the royal family to bank at Drummonds include the late
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who was distantly related to the founding Drummond family.
See also
*
Child & Co.
*
Holt's Military Banking
*
Coutts & Co.
References
Further reading
*
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1717 establishments in England
Banks established in 1717
Grade II listed banks
Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster
Italianate architecture in Scotland
Office buildings completed in 1885
Private banks
Royal Bank of Scotland
British companies established in 1717
Banking in Great Britain