Bank of Ireland, 82A Main Street, Bangor, Co Down, BT20 4AG

Bank of Ireland, 82A Main Street, Bangor, Co. Down

This is a three- to four-storey building over a basement, seven bays wide, built in the Art Deco style between 1935 and 1937 to designs by Adam Gerald Chaytor Millar, a Dublin-born architect who served as the Bank of Ireland's full-time in-house architect from 1926–27 onwards, having previously been a partner in the firm of Millar & Symes. The contractor was Isaac Copeland & Sons of Belfast, and completion was announced in the Irish Builder in May 1937 at a reported construction cost of £18,000. The building follows an irregular plan form and sits on a prominent central site in Bangor town, at the convergence of Main Street, Hamilton Road and Castle Street, opposite several other listed structures.

Architectural Character and Exterior

The principal elevation faces east and is symmetrically arranged. The central bay is recessed and rises four storeys, with three-storey sections to either side. At ground level, the main entrance occupies a splayed recess flanked by two small oblong windows. The ground floor is faced entirely in Portland stone, terminated by a continuous projecting stone string course. Above this, the upper floors are built in brown brick in Flemish bond, rising to a painted stone parapet. The first and second floor windows of the central bay are set within a double-height Portland stone panel with heavy-section mullions; between the first and second floors are chevron-embossed panels, with a clock face above. The composition rises to a symmetrical, stepped Art Deco parapet formation at the top, embracing a tripartite window to the third floor. Balcony railings at first-floor level have been removed. To either side of the central tower, the side bays are three windows wide at first-floor level, with a slightly diminished second floor rising to matching stepped parapets.

The south elevation matches the principal elevation in its detailing and has no openings at ground floor level, with single windows at first and second floor. The north elevation is three storeys high and five windows wide, with its alignment kinked to follow the road. The west (rear) elevation is of irregular form, with projections at various heights, finished in render with no decorative treatment, and forms part of an enclosed yard. Cast-iron rainwater goods are found to the rear. The roof is a flat felt-covered roof. Chimney stacks are obscured and carry a variety of pots.

Windows throughout have been replaced with plain smooth stone-surround PVC units, and the original shop fronts at ground floor level have also been replaced. A notable surviving original feature is the double-leaf timber entrance door, which retains its original ironmongery and is fitted with a vertical arrangement of varied and fielded panels. A disabled-access ramp has been added to the front façade.

The style and proportions of the building are representative of the corporate architectural image the Bank of Ireland projected at this period. The building's robust and civic character reflects its significance within the town centre, and despite the loss of original windows and shop fronts, much of the original layout, many original details, and the Art Deco styling survive intact.

Historical Context and Former Uses

The site has a layered history. Before 1856 it was occupied by a gaol known as the "Black Hole", described as a place of confinement to which the Provost of Bangor could send disturbers of the peace. The gaol was replaced by the Bangor Endowed School, a two-storey, three-bay Tudorbethan building with label moulds, which was subsequently adapted for use as the Town Hall and Fire Station. This earlier building was demolished in November 1935 to make way for the present bank, as recorded in valuation records. The Bank of Ireland had previously occupied premises on the corner of Quay Street and High Street.

By December 1936 the new building was roofed but lacked internal walls; it was finally valued at £370 in May 1937, later reduced to £320 on appeal. A contemporary valuer described it as a "modern bank – good position, well finished" with a "pleasing design", a "good entrance", offices that were "well fitted" with "good natural lighting", and central heating throughout.

From the outset, the building was large enough to be let out in parts to various tenants. The bank itself occupied the rear of the ground floor, with a strong room, porter's room, heating chamber and lavatories in the basement. Shops at the front and side of the building on the ground floor were leased to the Belfast Co-operative Society, who also occupied four further shop premises in the basement, along with a dispatch room, refrigerating room and lavatories. First-floor offices were let to the Ministry of Finance for use as a Valuation Office — noted by the valuers as "the best offices in the town" — and to two firms of solicitors, W. J. Bradley and White, McMillan and Wheeler. The bank manager lived in the upper floors, with a dining room, kitchen, scullery, larder, store, coal store and outside WC on the rear portion of the first floor; two reception rooms, four bedrooms, a box room, bathroom and WC on the second floor; and a single bedroom and tank room on the third floor. Garage space for the manager's car was provided at ground-floor level. The contemporary valuer noted that the manager's living quarters suffered from the "usual defects" of bank buildings, where the ground-floor business plan takes priority and the structural walls are difficult to adapt to a convenient residential layout.

Setting

The building stands at the convergence of Hamilton Road and Castle Street with Main Street, in the vicinity of several other listed structures. Main Street is lined with two- and three-storey retail and commercial premises. Central Avenue, to the north of the site, is a secondary route lined primarily with smaller two-storey retail and residential properties.

Current Use

The building remains in use as a bank, with some vacant shop spaces at ground-floor level. First-floor office space is currently vacant, while the second floor is in use by a charity as administrative accommodation.