In the Spring of 1692, a young Scot, John Campbell of Lundie, set up business as a goldsmith-banker at the sign of the Three Crowns in the Strand, London. The earliest extant records show that not only did Campbell supply plate and jewellery, he offered a comprehensive banking service: discounting bills, making loans and taking deposits. Many of his customers were his fellow countrymen, including his clan chief, the powerful Duke of Argyll. Campbell enjoyed royal patronage when Queen Anne commissioned him to make the collars and badges for the Order of the Thistle. In 1708, Campbell took another Scottish goldsmith, George Middleton, as partner. John Campbell died in 1712 and that year, Middleton married the founder’s daughter, Mary.