Bank Of England Trustee Savings Bank

The Bank of England Trustee Savings Bank, built between 1845 and 1846 by C.R. Cockerell, is a significant bank located on King Street in Manchester. It features a rectangular plan and is constructed from sandstone ashlar with a Portland stone plinth and parapet, topped with a slate roof. The building is designed in a monumental classical style, rising three storeys above a basement and comprising five symmetrical bays.

The façade includes a plinth that is interrupted by railings for the basement area, with channelled rustication except at the second floor. A giant colonnade of engaged Doric columns supports the ground and first floors, topped with an entablature and a triglyph frieze that projects forward over the central three bays, creating a balcony with hooped railings. The second floor is pilastered and features a prominent cornice that extends over each pilaster, culminating in a central three-bay pediment.

The central three bays are defined by giant round-headed arches with moulded imposts, run-out voussoirs, and keystones. The central arch contains a late 19th-century inserted square-headed doorway with an enriched architrave, while the outer arches feature tripartite windows with pilastered surrounds and spear-railings. Above these, the first floor has Diocletian windows. The outer bays and the second floor have windows with moulded architraves, except for the central second-floor window, which is designed in a free Venetian style with engaged columns and a radiating tympanum.

The left return side, facing Pall Mall, has a simpler design with three bays and features the original doorway in a large round-headed arch with a distinctly rusticated surround and voussoirs. The interior has been altered over time.