Savings Bank
By the mid-19th Century people on low incomes had access to a number of ways of putting aside small amounts of money for a rainy day and avoiding the shame of depending on poor relief. The first local savings bank was founded in Dumfries-shire by Rev Henry Duncan.
It was another minister, Rev David Henry, of New Marnoch Church, who in 1846 founded the Marnoch Savings Bank along with Free Church School teacher Robert Nicol, who went on to manage it for 32 years. The nationwide Post Office Savings Bank, established in 1861, operated in every post office in the country, including Aberchirder’s which was at that time in South Street.