Northern Bank, 5 Main Street, Randalstown, Antrim, Co Antrim, BT41 3AB

Northern Bank, Main Street, Randalstown

A two-storey, five-bay building in plain Italianate style, with its main entrance facing south onto the principal street. The entrance elevation is symmetrical except for the doorway positioned slightly off-centre to the left, with the window above off-centre to the right.

The roof is hipped, covered in Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses with widely overhanging eaves supported on paired modillion brackets with recessed panels to the soffits. Three chimneys rise from the roof: one to each end gable and one off-centre to the left behind the main ridge. All chimneys are smooth rendered with wide projecting moulded cornices.

The walls are smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with a moulded projecting smooth rendered plinth. A moulded stringcourse runs across the elevation, together with a moulded cornice and plain frieze to the ground floor. Moulded cill courses serve both floors, though that to the ground floor has been partly removed to the right of the entrance to accommodate a wall safe.

The five first-floor windows and four ground-floor windows are all timber sliding sashes with 1 over 1 panes and horns. Those at ground-floor level are semi-circular headed, set in semi-circular arched recesses with moulded imposts, archivolts and plain keystones. The first-floor windows are segmental-headed, set in stilted moulded segmental arched openings with plain imposts and keystones. The entrance doorway is recessed within a shouldered semi-circular arch, surmounted by a plain semi-circular arched fanlight. The original rectangular timber double doors remain, each leaf having three raised and fielded panels. Access is by a flight of five concrete steps, curving beyond the front boundary wall.

The moulded cast iron gutter and one rectangular section cast iron downpipe serve the entrance elevation.

The west elevation is largely obscured by an adjoining building abutting it, though the roof and chimney remain visible where the adjoining building is set back slightly.

The rear elevation is two-storey and of similar character to the front. It features a modern single-storey concrete brick extension projecting from the left, a taller rendered projection to the central portion, and a low lean-to rendered single-storey return to the right-hand side. The main block retains its hipped slated roof with overhanging eaves supported on coupled brackets with recessed panels to the soffits. Walls are smooth plastered, lined and blocked, with a high projecting plinth and prominent moulded projecting stringcourses between storeys, with a plain platband to the first floor at the springing height of the arched window openings.

The rear wall has a break forward to the left containing three first-floor windows. Two additional windows are set in the rear wall to the right. Those windows to the break front are segmental-headed timber sliding sashes, 2 over 2 with horns, with moulded arched surrounds and keystones. One similar window appears in the set-back rear wall to the right, with a smaller rectangular timber window, similarly sashed and set in reveals, to the right-hand extremity. A single small ground-floor window to the set-back rear wall is a rectangular timber sliding sash 1 over 1 with horns, fitted with steel security bars. A modern flush steel door occupies one doorway in the side of the central projection.

The single-storey rear return has a slated roof and smooth rendered walls with a plinth. It contains two windows with timber sliding sashes, 2 over 2 with horns, and a third window with a modern metal fixed light and side-hung casements. Three doorways provide access: an original boarded timber door, one plain rectangular flush timber door, and one louvred timber door. Cast iron gutter and downpipe serve this section.

The east elevation is of similar walling, roofing and eaves to the entrance front, with a prominent chimney at the centre of the gable. Moulded cast iron gutter and cast iron downpipe serve this face. Much of the lower portion of the ground floor is hidden from view by a set-back screen wall enclosing the rear yard. This screen wall is smooth rendered, lined and blocked, with a moulded projecting plinth and plain projecting coping. Its canted face to the east contains a large semi-circular arched vehicular gateway with chamfered reveals and iron-plated double doors.

Within the yard, the east elevation includes a single-storey canted bay projecting to the left behind the yard wall. The bay has smooth rendered walling, lined and blocked, with plain projecting eaves course and moulded cast iron gutter and downpipe. Two small segmental-headed timber sliding sashes, 1 over 1 with horns, are set in plain reveals with security bars affixed. To the right of the canted bay, a blocked window opening retains its moulded semi-circular arched surround and keystone.

The building stands on the main street, abutted by an adjoining building to the west and occupying a corner site to the east. It faces directly onto the street but is set back within a shallow front area bounded by a smooth rendered plinth wall surmounted by original cast iron spear-head railings set between short square piers with moulded caps and bases. The boundary wall and railings open at the east end to allow a modern pedestrian ramp to the main entrance, extending beyond the building at the east end with a curved return to meet the yard wall. A freestanding raking tubular iron or steel handrail on moulded posts serves the steps to the bank entrance, with modern tubular handrails also attached to the piers.

The rear yard is approached from the street by a tarmac driveway. The yard boundary wall to the east is of basalt rubble with plain concrete coping to the outer face and roughcast render to the inner face. The rear yard and area at the east side are finished in tarmac. At the rear of the yard stands a lean-to garage, roughcast with a modern metal door and a rectangular timber sashed window, 2 over 2 with horns, together with a sheeted timber door. Beyond the yard lies a long overgrown garden plot.