Trustee Savings Bank And Attached Railings

The Trustee Savings Bank, formerly known as Carlisle Savings Bank, is located on Lowther Street in Carlisle. Built in 1840 for the subscribers by architects Arthur and George Williams of Liverpool, the building is constructed from calciferous sandstone ashlar sourced from Prudhoe Quarries. It features a chamfered plinth, giant order pilasters with Corinthian capitals, a moulded entablature, a modillioned cornice, and a parapet that is partly balustraded with a central festoon and flanking head panels. The roof is covered with graduated slate and has no chimney stacks.

The building is two storeys high and consists of five bays. The recessed end bays contain 20th-century panelled doors with overlights set in architraves beneath a bracketed cornice, while small sash windows above are framed by stone architraves with moulded sill bands and festoon panels. The central three bays feature sash windows with glazing bars set in stone architraves on bracketed moulded sills, topped with console-bracketed cornices. The upper floor sash windows also have glazing bars and are set in eared architraves on moulded sill bands.

The interior was entirely gutted in 1988, having previously undergone alterations in 1874 and 1929. The railings in front of the building were also added in 1988. Historical references to the construction of the building can be found in the Carlisle Journal from 1839, 1840, and 1845, and further details regarding costs and later sale are documented in Mannix & Whellan's 1847 directory. The bank opened in 1874 as part of the adjoining Post Office and became part of the Gretna Tavern in 1916, with the front section converted into a Savings Bank by JH Martindale on July 9, 1929. The building presents an impressive facade when viewed down Devonshire Street.