Description

MILSOM STREET
(East side)

Nos.44 AND 45
Midland Bank and
attached vaults
(Formerly Listed
as: MILSOM STREET
(East side) Nos
43-45 (consec),
No.46, No.47)
12/06/50

GV II

Bank, formerly two houses (Nos 44 and 45) now altered and joined into one. c1763-1765, altered 1899, refronted 1936.
MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar to front, not visible to rear, parapeted mansard roof, Welsh slate to front, not visible to rear, has single large ashlar stack with early clay pots rising from coped party wall to right.
EXTERIOR: Three storeys, attic and basement, six-window range. First floor has six nine/nine horned sashes in ovolo moulded architraves rising from lowered stone sills with friezes and cornices and pediment to centre of each former house, second floor has six six/six horned sashes in eared ovolo moulded architraves rising from stone sills. Ground floor has four early C20 windows with glazing bars and fan-glazed heads flanked by two pairs of early C20 panelled doors with fanlights to match heads of windows. Panels of glass blocks in pavement to light basement (see below). Six single dormers with three/six and six/six-horned sashes. Plinth, rusticated arcade with moulded impost to ground floor, band course and moulded cornice over ground floor, modillion eaves cornice and coped parapet. Moulded lead hopperhead and downpipe to right. Rear elevation not visible.
INTERIOR: Very altered. Banking hall dates as space from 1936 but has been altered and refurbished in 1995. Two storey room with five clerestory windows and panelled ceiling above. Walls wood panelled.
HISTORY: Possibly by Thomas Jelly originally, but now rather altered in appearance in 1936 by Whinney and Son. Until then the two frontages were quite distinct, with sill and cornice lines lower to No.45. Following refronting all became level, but No.44 does appear to have been refronted as well at that time. Council minutes (1899) gave permission to remodel the Bank provided that the pavement lights did not extend more than 2ft from the new plinth. This (45 only) was the London, City and Midland Bank in 1906. Photographs of 1902 and 1911 from the Bath Chronicle show this still as two separate houses with different cornice lines. The ground floor of No.45 has columns and a big shell hood over the door. These are probably the alterations of 1899, since they do not appear in a Diamond Jubilee photograph of 1897. This frontage then disappeared to be replaced by the current uniform frontage over the two houses in 1936.
SOURCES: (Ison W: The Georgian Buildings of Bath: Bath: 1980-: 146-7; Colvin H: A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1660-1840: London: 1978-: 457; The Bath Chronicle: Images of Bath: Derby: 1994-: 119, 125 AND 128; Deposited Building Plans: 5707). Finch G: Shopfront Record, Bath City Council: 1992.

Listing NGR: ST7496565013

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26674833

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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