NatWest Bank, including railings to basement steps

Cadw's description

Location

At the NE corner of Castle Square at the junction with Pool Street.

History

Built in the early C20 as the National Provincial Bank and first shown on the 1918 Ordnance Survey.

Exterior

A bank in free-classical style, of 3 storeys with attic and basement. Ashlar with slate roof on a deep eaves cornice and coped parapet, with ashlar stack to the centre of the Pool Street elevation. 3 bays to Pool Street, a single bay to Castle Square, with a splayed corner entrance bay. The lower storey has channelled rustication and dentil cornice incorporating an egg-and-dart frieze and an entablature with late C20 sign. The main entrance in the corner bay has a replaced door and round-headed overlight with keystone bearing the monogram of the National Provincial Bank. An entablature projects on panelled consoles over lion's head corbels. The blank entablature has a dentil cornice with segmental pediment. The entablature supports a first-floor balcony, which has a coped parapet. A 2-light balcony window, with central Tuscan colonnette, is in a moulded architrave. Above this window is a raised field with scrolled sides and deep moulded cornice. In the upper storey are a pair of 2-pane sashes in moulded architraves with Tuscan colonnette. The middle and upper-storey windows are recessed between double-height Ionic columns in antis, that support a blank entablature below the eaves cornice. A segmental-headed roof dormer is behind the parapet.

The Castle Square elevation has a basement reached down stone steps behind railings incorporating wave bars and scrollwork, on a dwarf wall. In the lower storey are 2 recessed segmental-headed windows, each with keystones and sunk panels to the spandrels, a central Ionic colonnette and sill band. The middle storey has a tripartite 2-pane sash window in an architrave with Tuscan colonnettes, and consoles to a cornice and pediment over the central portion of the window. The upper storey has a similar tripartite window with sill band but no pediment. The parapet incorporates an open pediment on Tuscan pilasters, and Diocletian window, incorporating casements, in a rusticated surround with prominent decorative keystone.

In the Pool Street elevation the lower-storey entablature spans the central and R-hand bays only. The L-hand bay incorporates the entrance and stair lights to the offices in the upper storey. In the lower storey are 3 segmental-headed windows, similar to the Castle Square elevation, in the R-hand bay. The centre bay has a single similar window. In the middle and upper storeys the R-hand bay has a double-height canted bay window with 2-pane sashes, Ionic colonnettes to the middle storey and Tuscan above with sill band. A triple attic window is beneath a floating segmental pediment, and an overarching outer segmental pediment on Tuscan pilasters. The narrower central bay has double-height Ionic columns and a pair of 2-pane sash windows in architraves with Tuscan colonnettes to each storey, while between storeys is a raised field with scrolled sides. A gabled roof dormer is behind the parapet. In the L-hand bay is a doorway in an eared architrave with keystone, and panelled door, to the L of which is a keyed elliptical oculus. Above are 2 windows between Tuscan pilasters on a corbelled sill, and beneath a deep cornice on fluted consoles and panelled pilasters. Above it is a keyed oculus with small-pane glazing, while the upper storey has a tripartite 2-pane sash window with Tuscan colonnettes and sill band. The L end bay has an open pediment with Diocletian window, similar to the Castle Square elevation.

Interior

The banking hall has a ribbed ceiling of square panels, with classical ceiling cornice.

Reason for designation

Listed for its architectural interest as a freestyle bank, characteristic of the Edwardian period, on a prominent corner site, representing the late C19 and early C20 growth of the commercial district encompassing Castle Square, Bridge Street and Bangor Street.