Description

LEEDS

SE2933NE PARK ROW
714-1/75/298 (West side)
Nos.26 AND 27
Royal Bank of Scotland

GV II

Bank and insurance company premises, now bank. 1909, altered
C20. By Perkin and Bulmer. White matt-glazed faience,
('Marmo') made by the Leeds Fireclay Company at Burmantofts,
slate roof, cast-iron balconies and other fittings.
3 storeys on left; 4 storeys and attic on right, 4 bays,
curved corner bays, 5 bays to returns, South Parade (north)
and Bedford Street (south).
Rusticated ground floor and pilasters centre and flanking
corners which rise to deep 3rd-floor cornice on left and to
pedimented parapet right. Tall segmental-arched doorways and
windows on ground floor, flat-arched windows decrease in depth
on upper storeys. Decorative details include: 1st-floor
balconies, moulded plaques with figures below 2nd-floor
windows, oval plaques with female figures representing
Commerce, Wisdom etc and the symbol of the Fire and Life
Insurance Company; 2nd-floor entablature with gold raised
lettering: 'ANNO/ SCOTTISH UNION & NATIONAL/1824/ INSURANCE
COMPANY OFFICES', repeated on right return.
The right block, (No.26) has a 3rd storey with parapet and
round corner turret with domed roof and finial, dormer
windows, corniced stack. Original fittings include
square-section drain pipes and small-pane windows, ironwork
details painted green.
INTERIOR: not inspected.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the Burmantofts company developed Marmo as a
washable walling which imitated marble and was resistant to
erosion; it was used in several ornate city centre shop and
office premises before WWI and was popular for plainer cinemas
in the 1920s and 1930s.
Premises of the London and Smith's Bank, (left) and the
Scottish Union and National Insurance Company, this building
is probably the earliest example in the city, the first was
built in 1908 in York. RCHME archive has record of
manufacturers and craftsmen involved in the building,
including Thewlis and Co (sculpture) and T Pape and Co
(stained glass).
(Victorian Society Journal, West Yorkshire Branch: Van Lemmen,
Hans: Burmantoft's Marmo: 1983-: 22; Guide to the Burmantofts
Exhibition: Leeds City Museum and Bradford Museum: 1983-).

Listing NGR: SE2991633707

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26656223

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  For the Record