3 Market Place, Gainsborough

Bank built in 1927 by FCR Palmer.

The building is constructed in red brick with stone dressings and a tiled roof. The principal west elevation comprises five bays in Flemish bond brick with rusticated stone quoins (ashlar at upper storey level) on an ashlar plinth. The central three bays project forward and feature an apsidal three-door entrance with panelled double doors set within rusticated door cases under flat arches with foliate keystones. Above these are blind brick windows with gauged brick arches and geometric stone keystones. The doorways are separated by engaged Corinthian columns supporting an entablature spanning all three projecting bays. The frieze bears the scars of fixed letters that once named the National Provincial Bank. Two six-over-nine horned sash windows sit under gauged brick oeils-de-boeuf in the lower storey, with five six-over-nine horned sash windows across the upper storey. A brick parapet with three panels of stone balusters crowns the projecting bay, with urns featuring foliate sprays at either end.

The north elevation similarly presents five bays in Flemish bond brick with rusticated stone quoins on an ashlar plinth. The central three bays project forward and contain three six-over-nine horned sash windows in stone surrounds beneath blind brick windows with gauged brick arches and geometric stone keystones. Corinthian pilasters separate the windows and support an entablature spanning the three projecting bays, with the frieze again bearing scars of letters naming the National Provincial Bank. The upper storey contains three six-over-nine horned sash windows.

The interior plan comprises a circular timber atrium with glass internal walls and doors opening into a banking hall. The atrium floor features a large opus sectile eight-pointed star inlay. The banking hall is neoclassical in style, with a square central bay flanked by two rectangular bays, all separated by double Corinthian pilasters and panelled walls. The east wall contains a large tripartite window, with three sash windows on the north. The ceiling is divided into three coffers: the two southernmost contain leaded glazed cupolas with geometrical patterns set in square and rectangular panels respectively, while the northernmost coffer holds a circular rose set in a rectangular panel. The floor combines chequered tiles and wooden parquet.

Two offices open from the banking hall, each with matching panelling, wainscoting and sash windows. Two smaller offices with similar wainscoting feature semi-circular windows lit by the atrium. The strongroom, accessed through a large safe-type door, lies to the rear of the hall.

The west and north corners of the two end bays are enclosed as interview rooms, separated from the atrium by additional small interview rooms. A door in the south bay opens into a small lobby providing access to the strongroom and a stairwell. A door in the north bay opens into another small lobby giving access to the back door and basement.

The upper floor, accessed via an open string stone staircase in the south east corner with bronze handrail and wrought iron balustrades (incorporating wrought iron lily ornaments midway up each flight), comprises an L-shaped linear sequence of offices. The original sash windows survive here, but the rooms have been modernised with suspended ceilings and modern doors, though original coving remains above the suspended ceilings.

The basement is a single room divided into two by a brick wall. A small lobby with access to the strongroom and stairwell serves the kitchen and toilets situated above the strongroom.