Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank was built in 1932 by Buckland and Haywood. The building is faced with Portland stone and has a tile roof. It faces north onto High Street and is constructed in an L-shape, with a wing extending down Greyfriars Lane.

The building is designed in a Beaux Arts style and presents a monumental entrance facing High Street. The main door is set within a tall arch that rises through two storeys and projects slightly from the main building. It is flanked by rusticated sections with one bay to the left. Above the rustication is a projecting dentilled cornice and a further storey above the cornice, with the roof rising above. The door itself is set within a moulded frame, with the name 'LLOYDS BANK' carved in the frieze above. Above this, in the tympanum, is a carved sculpture depicting a Lloyds horse in a central panel, accompanied by the date '1677'. This is flanked by seated male figures; the figure on the left holds a key, while the figure on the right holds a ship.

The Greyfriars Lane elevation has six principal bays, with arched windows on the ground floor, which illuminate the banking hall. Tripartite windows are on the first floor. The bays are divided by full-height, fluted demi-columns with lotus capitals. Above the cornice, the upper storey has a row of sash windows. In the third bay from the right, there is a second entrance within a projecting surround. Beyond the main block, the building steps back, revealing two ashlar bays; one is three storeys high, and illuminates the main stair within, with two further entrances at ground floor level.

The main entrance opens into the double-height banking hall, which occupies the full six bays of the main block. The ceiling is supported on deeply curved cornices that echo the arched windows and is divided into five rectangular sections. The outer and middle sections have large central squares with two smaller outer squares, both taking the form of recessed panels with cornicing around the edges. The other sections have six square panels. The bank hall’s fittings are otherwise modern.

The building has largely been refitted beyond the banking hall. The main stair is believed to be in its original location, but has later 20th-century replacement handrails. A surviving original secondary stair to the rear of the building rises through the lower storeys. This stair has metal handrails with Art Deco detailing and solid newel posts.