Bank House

Bank House is a savings bank that has been converted into a house. It was built in 1857 by Henry Crisp, with William Burt as the builder, for the Launceston Savings Bank. The building features stucco on rubble with a granite plinth, sills, and sill brackets, along with a parapet that has a moulded cornice. The roof is hipped and covered with dry slate, and it has two-stage stuccoed end stacks that also have moulded cornices.

The layout is a double-depth U-shaped plan with a lean-to stair projection at the rear right-hand angle and a recessed central entrance bay. The 20th-century windows are set within moulded architraves that have tall keyblocks. The central doorway is tripartite and includes side-lights, all featuring moulded round arches that spring from stepped corbels. There are keyblocks above the lights, and three consoles over the doorway are linked to a moulded mid-floor string. The entrance has a pair of 2-panel doors and a plain fanlight. The rear of the building retains five original hornless sash windows with glazing bars.

Inside, original features include a dog-leg open-string staircase with turned balusters, moulded ceiling cornices, slate chimney-pieces, and six-panel doors. The entrance and stair hall has been later subdivided, and there is a doorway on the left of the entrance hall that leads through a former fireplace.

Historically, Bank House was the first purpose-built premises for the Launceston Savings Bank, which began operations on January 28, 1818, making it one of the first of its kind in England. In 1865, some rooms were rented by Fleetwood Kempson, a solicitor, and were used as reading rooms and a club that later became known as the Tamar Club.