Northern Bank

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey, five-bay building in a plain Italianate style. Main entrance faces south.

Entrance elevation is symmetrical except for the doorway being slightly off-centre to the left, and the window above it off-centre to the right.
Hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with widely overhanging eaves supported on paired modillion brackets; recessed panels to soffits. Three chimneys, one to each end gable, and one off-centre to left behind main ridge of roof: smooth rendered with wide projecting moulded cornices.
Walls are smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with moulded projecting smooth rendered plinth; moulded stringcourse, moulded cornice, and plain frieze to ground floor; moulded cill courses to both floors but that to ground floor later partly removed to right of entrance to accommodate a wall safe. Moulded cast iron gutter with one rectangular section cast iron downpipe. Five windows to first floor and four to ground floor where there are two to each side of the entrance. All windows sliding sash, 1 over 1 with horns; those on the ground floor are semi-circular headed, set in semi-circular arched recesses with moulded imposts, archivolts and plain keystones; those to first floor are segmental-headed set in stilted moulded segmental arched openings with plain imposts and keystones. The entrance doorway is recessed in a shouldered semi-circular arch, surmounted by a plain semi-circular arched fanlight; original rectangular timber double doors, each leaf 3-panel, raised and fielded. Entrance reached by a flight of five concrete steps, curved beyond the front boundary wall.

West elevation: mostly obscured by adjoining building abutting it but visible where the adjoining building is set back slightly. Walls and roof as previous to entrance elevation with gable chimney visible behind the ridge of the adjoining building.

Rear elevation: two-storey, of similar character to front except there is a modern single storey concrete brick extension projecting from it to the left; a taller rendered projection to the central portion; and a low lean-to rendered single storey rear return to the right-hand side. Main block has a hipped slated roof as previous to entrance front, overhanging on coupled brackets with recessed panels to soffits. Moulded cast iron gutters with cast iron downpipes. Walls smooth plastered, lined and blocked, with high projecting plinth; and prominent moulded projecting stringcourses between storeys, with a plain platband to the first floor at springing height of arched window openings. Main block rear wall has a break forward to the left, containing three windows to the first floor, with two windows in rear wall set back to the right. Windows to first floor of break front are segmental headed timber sliding sashes, 2 over 2 with horns, with moulded arched surrounds and keystones. One similar window to set-back rear wall, with a smaller rectangular timber window, similarly sashed, and set in reveals, to the right-hand extremity. One doorway in side of central projection: modern flush steel door in plain reveals. One small window to ground floor of set-back rear wall: rectangular timber sliding sash 1 over 1 with horns, with steel security bars affixed. Single storey rear return has a roof slated as previous; walls smooth rendered, with plinth; two windows have sliding sashes, 2 over 2 with horns; a third window has modern metal fixed light with side-hung casements. One plain rectangular flush timber, and one louvred timber door; a third doorway has an original boarded timber door; cast iron gutter and downpipe.

East elevation is of similar walling, roofing, and eaves to entrance front; prominent chimney to centre of gable; moulded cast iron gutter and cast iron downpipe.

Much of the lower portion of the ground floor is hidden from the front by a set-back screen wall to the rear yard. The screen wall is smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with a moulded projecting plinth and plain projecting coping; canted face to east, containing a large semi-circular arched vehicular gateway, with chamfered reveals; iron-plated double doors.

Within the yard the east elevation has a single storey canted bay projecting to the left behind the yard wall: bay has smooth rendered walling, lined and blocked, with plain projecting eaves course; moulded cast iron gutter and cast iron downpipe; two windows, small segmental headed timber sliding sash, 1 over 1 with horns, set in plain reveals, with security bars affixed. To right of canted bay is the trace of a blocked up window, with moulded semi-circular arched surround and keystone still visible.

SETTING: The building stands in the main street of the town abutted by an adjoining building to the west, but occupying a corner site to the right.
It faces directly onto the street but is enclosed within a shallow front area bounded by a smooth rendered plinth wall surmounted by original cast iron spear-head railings set between short square piers with moulded caps and bases. Boundary wall and railings open at the east end to allow a modern pedestrian ramp up to the main entrance, but extending beyond the building at the east end with a curved return to abut the yard wall. The flight of steps between the central piers up to the bank entrance has a freestanding raking tubular iron or steel handrail on moulded posts. Modern tubular handrails also attached to piers.
Rear yard is approached from the street by a tarmac driveway.
Yard boundary wall to the east is of basalt rubble with plain concrete coping, to the outer face.
Area at rear and enclosed in yard at east side is of tarmac. Inner face of boundary wall to east is of roughcast render. To the rear of the yard is a lean-to garage, roughcast with modern metal door, and a rectangular timber sashed window, 2 over 2 with horns; sheeted timber door. Beyond the yard is a long overgrown garden plot.

Historical information

Built as a branch office for the Belfast Banking Company in two stages, starting with the three bays to the east in 1865, and then extended by two additional bays to the west in 1903; subsequently became a branch of the Northern Bank.

References – Primary Sources
1. Dublin Builder, 1 Jan 1866, p 13 (reference to opening of new office for Belfast Banking Co).
2. Old photograph of Main Street, Randalstown, showing the original three-bay building, in the possession of Sheelagh Hillen in 2000.
3. OS Map 1903, Co Antrim 43.

Secondary Sources
1. UAHS, Antrim and Ballymena (Belfast, 1969), p 25.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is a Victorian bank in a plain Italianate style which has lost some of its original interior features but retains its essential exterior appearance and character, and provides the main street of the town with an important element of formal architecture.