Description

Dated 1882. 3-storey, 3-bay, square-plan Tudor-style bank with advanced gabled bays and gabled dormers breaking eaves with decorative bargeboards. Coursed red sandstone with smooth ashlar quoins and window margins to principal elevations; random whinstone rubble to rear. Central entrance door with recessed, engaged colonnettes and arched hoodmould; pleated corbel detail over chamfered corner. Stone mullioned tri- and bipartite windows, some with grooved transoms at eaves; projecting corbelled cills to first floor. Projecting square stair tower to rear.

Assorted glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows to upper floors, fixed timber casements to ground floor. Graded grey slate roof with timber bracketed overhanging eaves. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Corniced, shouldered rectangular wallhead stacks, some with rounded ends; plain clay cans.

INTERIOR: some fine interior detailing survives including decorative plasterwork to most rooms. Elegant 3-storey, dog-leg stair with barley-twist cast-iron banisters. 5-panel timber doors.

Statement of Interest

The bank building has a strong design with some fine stone detailing and timber fretwork bargeboards. The building is prominently sited on the corner of the High Street and Leithen Road and makes a strong contribution to the streetscape with its red sandstone façade.

The bank represents an early part of the development surge along the High Street which occurred between 1881-1894, when many buildings were upgraded and new buildings introduced. It is a good example of a building of its date, its fine detailing signifying the grandeur and confidence of the bank.

The Bank of Scotland first opened in Innerleithen in 1863 as a sub- branch of Peebles; later a new premises was required and the present site was bought in December 1881 for £500. The bank was built at a cost of £2,481 and was opened for business in the spring of 1883.

The interior of the upstairs former manager's house has some fine quality detailing, befitting a building of this status.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77780688

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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