Description

LANCASTER

SD4761NE CHURCH STREET
1685-1/7/82 (North side)
No.68
National Westminster Bank

GV II*

Banking hall and offices. 1870, with C20 addition. By Garlick,
Park and Sykes (of Preston). For the Lancaster Banking Co.
Sandstone ashlar with ashlar dressings, above a deep plinth of
Carboniferous limestone. Slate roof with tall gable chimney
stacks. Rectangular plan. In the Italian palazzo style.
2 storeys, over a tall basement which can be seen at the back
because of the fall of the land, and 9 bays divided by
pilasters on the 1st floor, with the doorway in the 6th.
The facade is articulated by a prominent modillion cornice
between the storeys and by Corinthian pilasters on the first
floor, which carry a heavy entablature, with brackets carved
with acanthus leaves in the frieze. The blocking course is
interrupted by acroteria carved with palmettes above the
pilasters and is raised at the corners. Above the plinth the
ground floor has banded rustication and there is a moulded
band at the impost level of the windows, which have plain
reveals and keystones carved with heads. The windows of the
first floor have moulded architraves and recessed sills, below
which there is a panel of vermiculation. The 5th and 7th bays
contain panels carved with bas-reliefs of the arms of
Lancaster and of Lancashire, set in florid scrollwork. The
doorway projects strongly, with a pediment which continues the
ground-floor cornice and is carried on free-standing Tuscan
columns of polished pink granite, mounted on the plinth; the
frieze bears the inscription 'BANK'. The bays to the right and
left of the doorway are blind. To the left a single-storey
3-bay extension, in early C20 classical style.
INTERIOR: large banking hall has ceiling supported on 4
free-standing Corinthian columns and is divided into
compartments with modillion cornices. In the central
compartment is a glazed lantern.
HISTORY: the Lancaster Banking Company was one of the first
joint-stock banks in the country, established in 1826
following the collapse of 2 other local banks.

Listing NGR: SD4762661857

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17531672

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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