Norwest House

TQ 3079 SW and 3078 NW

101/83 106/1

CITY OF WESTMINSTER SW1 Millbank Norwest House

(Formerly listed as Imperial Chemical House)

16.1.81

GV II

Office block. 1928 by Sir Frank Baines as part of a uniform composition with Thames House q.v. flanking Horseferry Road approach to Lambeth Bridge. Sculpted figures by Jagger. Portland stone and granite on steel frame, leaded roofs. Monumental corner block in Lutyens-Baker Classical manner, with giant order colonnade dressing the "top hamper" below steeply hopped roof.

Five storeys with four-storey attic. Symmetrical, 27-window wide front to Millbank; seven windows wide splayed corner and five-window return to Horseferry Road. Granite faced ground floor with three doorways to Millbank and one to centre of corner splay, the main entrance to centre of Millbank front reaching up into first floor with coffered-soffit archivolt arch in architrave surround rising to entablature and cornice; the doors are plated and panelled in nickel-copper alloy with naturalistic motifs, by W.B. Fagan. Recessed glazing bar metal casements, under flat voussoired arches with keystones, distributed regularly across ground floor and rusticated first to fourth floors. Giant niches through third and fourth floors framing arched windows surmounted by peacocks with lunette light above, five to Millbank and one each to centre of other two elevations. Giant quoin pilasters and entablature above fourth floor with balustraded parapet; statues over corner dies. The "top hamper" of four storeys has giant order colonnade to principal sixth and seventh floors, between giant engaged order end pavilions each of one large window, and central three bay pavilion with projecting attic to Millbank. Entablature over seventh floor and slightly recessed topmost attic storey.

Listing NGR: TQ3019479057