National Westminster Bank

The National Westminster Bank is a bank building constructed between 1899 and 1902, designed by Norman Shaw. It features a striking exterior made of granite in alternating stripes of yellow and grey, complemented by terracotta window dressings and a slate roof. The building has four main storeys, a mezzanine, and attics, arranged in five bays. The large entrance is round-arched, banded, and rusticated, topped with a cornice. The upper floors are adorned with small-paned windows set in moulded terracotta architraves, featuring cornices on the first floor and keystones on the top floor. A richly detailed cornice crowns the building, embellished with dentils, egg and dart motifs, and modillions. The roof is punctuated by two storeys of dormers, the lower ones featuring segmental pediments, along with large gable stacks and a central axial stack. Inside, the bank boasts a fine circular space with a central round lantern, radiating coffered and carved panels decorated with painted swags of fruits, a rich frieze and cornice, and eight triple pilasters striped with green marble, along with oval medallions.