35, Corn Street

BRISTOL

ST5872NE CORN STREET, Centre 901-1/16/561 (North side) 01/11/66 No.35

GV II*

Bank. C14/15 vault beneath 1811 bank. Possibly by John Nash. For Miles Bank. Refronted 1879, perhaps by W Gingell. Limestone ashlar with a hipped Welsh slate roof and central glazed lantern. Single-depth plan. Italian Renaissance Revival-style bank. Single storey; 3-window range. A symmetrical front has pilasters with faceted rustication on the ground floor, banded above to a panelled frieze, 4 groups of triple brackets to a cornice, and dies with patera to 3 sections of balustrade; rusticated ground floor to a plat band. A central doorway has octagonal plinths to Tuscan columns, with vermiculated blocks, set in coved reveals to an entablature with inset roll-moulding, a segmental pediment, and double 6-panel doors. Tall windows each side rise through the plat band with blocks to the architrave below, a small window above the door, all with eared architraves, entablatures as the door, and pediments; outer 9/9-pane sashes. INTERIOR: open banking hall with an intermediate cornice, ceiling cornice, rear open semicircular arch, and a round lantern with panelled sides, probably with most of the original decorative scheme. Vaulted brick cellars beneath; beneath the street to the front is a C14/15 vault with 3 chamfered pointed arches from street, adjoining a straight joint marking rear of right-hand wall of medieval tenement. In this wall are 2 wide chamfered pointed-arched doorways to vaulted cells of 3 bays, approx 5m wide x 6m deep; similar arch to right of rear wall; chamfered jambs to former on left. To front on right are 4 chamfered voussoirs of segmental arch; the vault has 3 chamfered transverse ribs, split to form Y ribs meeting common springers at front. HISTORICAL NOTE: the facade originally had a low arch and 3 smaller, unmoulded windows. Nash was working at Blaise House for Harford, who was a partner in Miles Bank, the original client. An exceptionally fine and complete example of an early C19 bank, which has also retained a very rare and notable example of a late medieval vaulted undercroft. Linked by C20 glazed lobby to c1770 Banker's House (qv) behind, the latter being an important component of the late Georgian bank. (Gomme A, Jenner M and Little B: Bristol, An Architectural History: Bristol: 1979-: 352).

Listing NGR: ST5875272986