Bank Melli Iran, Formerly Public Library is a Grade II listed building in the Kensington and Chelsea local planning authority area, England. First listed on 15 April 1969. Bank, former public library. 19 related planning applications.

Bank Melli Iran, Formerly Public Library

WRENN ID
crumbling-arch-magpie
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Kensington and Chelsea
Constituency
Kensington and Bayswater MP: Joe Powell (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
15 April 1969
Type
Bank, former public library
Address
Bank Melli Iran, Formerly Public Library, 98a, Kensington High Street W8, W8 4SG
OS grid reference
TQ 255 796
Coordinates
51.50155, -0.19265
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The former public library, now known as Bank Melli Iran, was built in 1852 and is designed in the Elizabethan style. This two-storey building features red brick with stone dressings and is five windows wide, with the centre and ends projecting. The windows are three-light stone mullioned and transomed, with diamond-paned casements. The ground floor includes an enriched four-centred arched porch, and above it is a canted bay adorned with a heraldic frieze. An octagonal clock turret rises above the roof, topped with an ogival dome. The outer bays have projecting bay windows at the ground floor, complete with battlements. The building is further enhanced by elaborate stone-coped Dutch gables that include Gothic statue niches. The roof is covered with slates, and there is an openwork parapet.

Local climate

Bank Melli Iran, Formerly Public Library sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 93% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 94% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 51% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 19 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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