18 and 20 Market Street

This is a former bank building, dating from around 1870. It’s constructed from sandstone with a slate roof, featuring a ridge chimney stack, a chimney at the right side, and another at the rear. The building occupies a sloping corner site and is roughly square in plan, with a basement level. It is built in the Scottish baronial style.

The front elevation, facing Market Street, has two unequal gabled bays and a corner turret which contains the main entrance. The ground floor features pointed arched windows; the first bay has coupled windows, while the second has triple windows. Each window has a projecting frieze, the second of which is larger and supported by carved beasts holding shields. The first floor windows are similarly arranged, but are sash windows without glazing bars. The gable of the first bay contains a carved coat of arms, and the gable of the second bay has a stepped, three-light sash window, lettered with "THE" and "LANCASHIRE & YORKSHIRE” above and below it. The corner turret is square at ground floor level with an arched doorway and a hoodmould above it. It rises to a cylindrical form at the first floor, featuring two lancet windows, a deep parapet, and a swept, conical, lead-clad roof.

A return wall facing Union Street has a monopitched-roofed cloister with five lancet windows linking to a three-and-a-half storey gabled bay to the rear. The rear gable has a studded door with a pointed arched fanlight, all enclosed by a hoodmould terminating with carved shields. The basement window on this side consists of four lancets. Otherwise, windows on this side are coupled sashes without glazing bars. A deck to the doorway is protected by spear-headed iron railings.