Sovereign House

Sovereign House is a bank building, now used as offices with a public house in the basement, constructed between 1862 and 1864 by P.C. Hardwick for the Bank of England. It is built of ringby sandstone ashlar with a slate roof and wrought-iron railings, designed in a late Classical style. The building has three storeys over a basement, with an additional storey in the roof. It features three similar facades, with the main entrance on South Parade, a rear entrance on The Headrow, and a right return to Park Row.

The ground floor is rusticated and includes a Greek key-pattern frieze and cornice. The upper storeys have rusticated quoins and pilasters, a modillion cornice, and a balustraded parapet with vase finials. A central porch with paired fluted columns supports an entablature that features a triglyph frieze and scrolled mask, along with deep eaves and a blocking course. The building has 4-pane sash windows throughout, with alternate triangular and segmental pediments above the first-floor windows. On the right return, there is a central three-part window on each floor, with fluted columns in antis on the ground floor and scrolls and masks in the frieze above. The interior has not been inspected.