Gibson House including area walls, piers and railings

Bank, 1870-1872 by John Gibson of Westminster, for the National Provincial Bank, now offices.

MATERIALS: constructed in sandstone ashlar, with red brick rear elevation in Flemish bond, a Welsh slate roof with brick stacks and renewed wrought iron railings.

PLAN: occupying a square island site, the building’s principal elevation faces south-east onto Cleveland Street whilst the south-west elevation faces Gosford Street.

EXTERIOR: Cleveland Street: the principal elevation is one storey with basement and five bays. The elevation is designed in the French Baroque style, with applied Roman Doric Order with guttae and paterae to the frieze inscribed: NATIONAL PROVINCIAL BANK OF ENGLAND.

The central entrance is approached up six steps and sits below a projecting pedimented portico. The entrance has panelled double doors and a blind overlight containing modern signage, with a corniced, fluted surround. Above is a three light moulded mullioned window with modern glazing. The pediment above is supported by paired columns with guttae and paterae in the frieze and inscribed: ESTABLISHED A D MDCCCXXXIII, the date of the founding of the National Provincial Bank. The tympanum contains sculptures by Charles Henry Mabey of London depicting Britannia in the centre flanked by an ironworker on the right and a miner on the left.

The entrance portico is flanked by tall round-headed windows, with renewed glazing and modern iron grilles, in quasi-Tuscan surrounds, with scrolled keystones and moulded sills. The sills sit on scrolled consoles flanking panelled aprons. The elevations have paired columns at the ends and pilasters between the windows, all set on pedestals. The basement windows have iron grilles.

Above the frieze and dentilled cornice is a straight parapet, with pierced geometric-pattern panels, between square pedestals. There is a shallow-pitched hipped roof with corniced stacks to front and rear.

The south-west elevation to Gosford Street and the north-east elevation are similarly styled to the principal elevation, comprising a single-storey and three bay banking hall and a two storey and two bay rear element. The latter is rather plainer with square-headed windows and stone sills. The first bay on the south-west elevation contains an entrance with panelled double doors and a blind overlight containing modern signage. The frieze above both the south-west and north-east elevations is inscribed REBUILT ANNO DOM. MDCCCLXXII.

The rear (north-west) elevation is of red brick in Flemish bond. The ground floor is obscured by a late-C20 modern flat-roofed extension.

The building is retained by a stone area wall with moulded caps and plain railings. There are coupled gatepiers to the Cleveland Street entrance with a blue plaque attached to the left gatepier.