The Old Bank

The Old Bank is a Neo-Georgian style bank built in 1914, possibly incorporating older fabric, to a design by Dunn, Watson & Curtis Green, and restored in 1994. It has a deep plan and is constructed of limestone ashlar.

The three-storey front features five bays. The ground floor exhibits horizontal, vermiculated banding, with three eight/eight pane sash windows, each featuring a voussoir head with a large, console-shaped keystone. Matching doorways are located in the outer bays, each with double panelled doors and architraves with console bracket heads. Above the ground floor is a plat band, followed by a first floor sill band. The piano nobile level contains five large six/nine pane sash windows, with alternating pediments and cornices to the window surrounds. The second floor has smaller three/three pane sash windows with eared architraves and a cornice bearing the inscription 'THE OLD BANK ESTABLISHED 1760'. The building is finished with a parapet composed of five balustraded panels above the windows and solid piers between.

Inside, a bronze plaque in the entrance lobby commemorates bank employees who lost their lives in the First World War. The banking hall is located at the rear and features a shallow, domed, coffered ceiling and clerestory lighting.

The Old Bank occupies the site of the oldest surviving bank in Bath, with a continuous banking presence since at least 1786. It was originally opened as the ‘High Street Bank’ at No.17 High Street by Robert Clement, who had been conducting banking activities since the 1750s as part of his drapery business. The bank underwent various name changes and amalgamations, including becoming the Union of London and Smith's Bank in 1906. It was rebuilt in its current form, when it became the National Provincial Bank, by the prestigious London firm of Dunn, Watson and Curtis Green.

The Old Bank is an integral part of an important group of historic buildings within the Bath World Heritage Site, and makes a significant contribution to the local streetscape.