Thomas Aitken Dollar's youngest son, John Archibald Watt Dollar, explains in the panel on the right of his sketch 'GROUND Floor Plan of 56 New Bond St & environs' that it was 'Executed at Glasgow University entirely from memory — without notes or references of any kind [in] Jan 1942.' Dollar, who would have been around 70 at the time, suggests the plan shows the premises 'about 1888' which would indicate a time immediately prior to the rebuilding, which he dates as 1890.

However, the layout of the premises, seems to have developed since the original plan, in particular the office and reception area, the farrier's shop, the coach houses, and the changes to the loose box area.

And if Dollar was showing off slightly about his family's achievements in his later years, he would surely be talking about what was new rather than what was old, especially when the new building, according to all published accounts, was one which anyone building new stables should visit.

Finally, though perhaps too much importance should not be given to something which might just be a lapse of memory, the drawing shows the premises of 'Fenwick (Costumes)' to the left of No.56 on the corner with Brook Street. However, the Fenwick history pages on their website state that Fenwick only moved to Bond Street in 1891—after the Dollar rebuild had been completed.1

So Archibald's drawing seems to be giving us an impression of what the premises looked like after the rebuild. Published descriptions of the press view (prior to its opening) seems to bear this out. One paper, for example, refers to the ten-stalled stable on the left of the entrance, whereas the earlier plan shows thirteen stalls.2

The finding of these two plans, and the difficulty of more accurately determining which stage of the building's life they depict, has at least brought to life again the existence of this major establishment—one which is surely worthy of more extensive research enabling us in due course to expand the current rather scanty details of an important Turkish bath for animals.