Alliance And Leicester Building Society

The Alliance and Leicester Building Society is a town house that was later converted into a bank and is now used as building society premises. It was built around 1840 and is constructed from granite ashlar with a vermiculated plinth, moulded window architraves, and a tall parapet entablature featuring a heavy moulded cornice. The roof is made of asbestos slate, and there are brick stacks. The building has a tapered corner-site plan and is designed in a classical style. It stands two stories over a basement and has a symmetrical three-bay front framed by giant pilasters. The windows are late 19th or 20th century twelve-pane horned sashes, and the central doorway is flanked by blind panels, featuring an original pair of five-panel doors with a latticed overlight and four granite steps. There is a latticed basement window on the left side. The left-hand return and rear elevation have original sashes with glazing bars, along with some blind windows. Inside, there is an open-well open-string staircase with a scrolled mahogany handrail, panelled doors, and a moulded plaster ceiling cornice. This building is part of an important group of high-quality buildings, including the guildhall and the market hall, which is now the museum, located in the center of the town.