Leeds And Holbeck Building Society

The Leeds and Holbeck Building Society, at 90, 92 and 94 Vicar Lane, is a former bank and offices designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and constructed in 1932. The building is of red brick with extensive Portland stone facing and dressings, covered by a slate roof.

The building has three bays facing Vicar Lane, with single corner bays on each side, and a corner entrance where Vicar Lane meets Eastgate. A further single bay fronts onto Eastgate. It rises four storeys high. The ground floor is rusticated Portland stone and features small-paned round arched sash windows, a corner entrance with a square architrave and cartouche, and a projecting string course. The first floor is also faced in ashlar Portland stone and contains square small-paned windows. A further string course separates the floors. The second-floor windows are taller, with bays defined by giant pilasters running up to the roof level. The outer windows on Vicar Lane, the corner windows, and the Eastgate window are dressed with stone swags below and segmental pediments above. The central bay on Vicar Lane is plainer, exposing more brickwork. The third-floor windows are similar to those on the first floor. The roof has a stone parapet, balustraded in places, with swagged decoration on the corner and stone urns at intervals.

The double-height ground floor is an open space with modern fittings. The upper floors are largely integrated into offices fronting onto 1-5 Eastgate and also have modern fittings. A change in floor levels marks the junction between the two buildings.

The building was part of a wider plan to relieve traffic congestion in central Leeds, involving the development of the Headrow and Eastgate in the 1920s. Sir Reginald Blomfield was commissioned to design buildings along the north side of these new streets, and this former bank was intended to be part of a group of four banks at the junction of Headrow, Vicar Lane and Eastgate, completed in 1932. It is now occupied by Connexions on the ground floor, with offices above. Adjoining shops and offices at 1-5 Eastgate were constructed in the 1960s.