Midland Bank

The Midland Bank, built in 1880 for the Worcester City and County Bank, is a banking hall designed by architect W.H. Knight. It features a florid French Renaissance style, constructed from ashlar with pink granite columns and a slate mansard roof, along with brick and ashlar stacks at each end. The building stands three storeys high with an attic, showcasing one window at the angle and four first-floor windows, alongside a two-storey and attic range with three first-floor windows to the right.

The ground-floor windows are separated by channelled pilaster strips, which are adorned with swagged corbels supporting a cornice above. The windows feature cross mullions and decorative carved floral panels above the ground-floor frieze, with carved panels and bracket cornices over the first-floor windows. A continuous carved sill band runs along the second floor, where the windows are set in recesses. The building is topped with a crowning modillion cornice and a balustraded parapet.

There are two first-floor oriels to the right, one on the main range and one on the lower range, both capped with coats of arms and strapwork, displaying mottoes. A further similar oriel is located at the chamfered corner on the left, with the bank entrance positioned beneath it, flanked by columns with floral capitals. The entrance features panelled double doors with a blind fanlight. The roof dormers in the attic have two-light mullion-and-transom windows and pediments, with those in the main range set behind the balustrade. The left return of the building has a similar facade.

The interior has not been inspected. Historically, the Promenade was established in 1818 as a tree-lined avenue linking the Colonnade in High Street to the Sherborne Spa, which is now the site of the Queen's Hotel. The Midland Bank forms a group with Nos. 6-24 (even) Promenade.