Former Barclay'S Bank

679/14/241 SILVER STREET 23.11.73 HALIFAX (North side) 12-16 FORMER BARCLAY'S BANK CENTRAL STREET HALIFAX (East side) 4-8 FORMER BARCLAY'S BANK (Formerly listed as: SILVER STREET HALIFAX 12-16 BARCLAY'S BANK) (Formerly listed as: CENTRAL STREET HALIFAX 4-8)

GV II Former bank, now public house and shop, mid to late C19.

MATERIALS: The building is in stone with slate roofs. EXTERIOR: It has théé storeys plus an attic storey. It stands on a corner site, with its main entrance on the canted corner. To the main (south-east) front are three bays, with three very wide bays to the left return (south-west), and beyond, 2 more bays with a carriage entrance and a separate shop. The corner entrance has a segmental pediment above a coat of arms, and an eared architrave. The ground floor windows have segmental arches with keystones, while those on the first floor have cast iron columns and decorative stonework above. The second floor is lower with more widely spaced windows, and above is an ornamental parapet with blind arcading and gabled lucarne windows. The carriage entrance also has a segmantal arch, with two windows to the first floor and a single to the second. The shop to the left has a central entrance in a glazed shop front, with windows and parapet above matching the rest. There is small scale ornamentation throughout, including pilasters, rustication to the ground floor stonework, and finials alongside the attic windows.

INTERIOR: The interior was not inspected.

HISTORY:The building dates to the mid to late C19 and was formerly Barclay's Bank. It was listed in 1973 and at the time of inspection had been converted into a public house.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Former Barclays Bank, at 12-16 Silver Street and 4-8 Central Street, Halifax, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architecture: it demonstrates the eclectic style of mid-Victorian commercial buildings with flair, reflecting the wealth and importance of Halifax at this period * Intactness: it retains its outward appearance with little change * Group Value: it forms an important part of an island group of buildings of similar date and style