Former Northern Bank, 56 Bridge Street, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 3JL

Former Northern Bank

An Edwardian free-style two-storey-with-attic three-bay end-terrace half-brick former bank built in 1906 to designs by William Ferguson. The building is prominently located on the west side of Bridge Street at its junction with Downshire Road in Banbridge town centre, forming part of a largely mid-nineteenth-century mixed terrace.

The building is L-shaped on plan with a gabled bay projection to the north. It comprises a full-height extension and a single-storey-over-basement hipped annexe with flat-roof extension to the rear. The hipped natural slate roof has tall red-brick chimneystacks with raised stone skews. Cast-iron rainwater goods sit on dentilled eaves.

The principal eastern elevation faces Bridge Street and comprises a central bay flanked by two narrower bays. All three bays have segmental-headed broken-bed pediments framing occuli in stone surrounds with exaggerated keystones. The pediments rise from brick piers banded with dressed sandstone, framing the first-floor windows. The central bay contains a dormer window to the attic and two windows to the first floor, while the right bay has a round-headed window to the attic and segmental-headed window to the first floor.

The ground floor walling is band rusticated sandstone on a rock-faced granite plinth. The upper floors are Flemish-bonded red brick with sandstone dressings, a continuous sill course to the first floor, and an ashlar sandstone frieze to the centre bay. Ground-floor windows are round-headed replacement timber casements in alcove surrounds with original railings to the sills, moulded sandstone architraves and keyblocks. Occuli light the attic. First-floor windows are 1/1 timber-framed sliding sash in lugged sandstone surrounds with three-stage keyblocks. The outer first-floor windows are segmental-headed with decorative keyblock, broken pediment and console brackets.

The central bay of the ground floor contains a Venetian window to the east elevation, having a chamfered surround with keyblock to the central opening and moulded surround, keyblock and cornice to the flanking windows. To the right is a round-headed window in a chamfered surround. The left bay mirrors this arrangement but has a six-panelled timber door with bolection moulding and beaded muntin in a polished marble surround with cornice, surmounted by a round-headed transom light in a chamfered reveal with keyblock.

The south elevation is abutted by the adjoining building. The west rear elevation has a projecting chimneybreast with a window at attic and first-floor level to the left. The right bay has a window to the attic and first floor to the right and is abutted to the left by a later extension with a 1/1 leaded-and-stained glass window to the attic. A single-storey-over-basement hipped annexe abuts the ground floor to the left, with a flat-roof extension. The north elevation of the annexe has tripartite 1/1 windows with the outer openings narrower than the central opening.

The north elevation features a full-height gabled projection to the right, executed entirely in brick with an oculus to the attic, two windows to the first floor and two round-headed windows to the ground floor, all with lugged stone surrounds and keyblocks. The exposed section to the east contains a first-floor window and a five-panelled timber door with transom light in a moulded sandstone surround with three-stage keyblock, accessed via bull-nosed steps arranged in groups of three. The left bay contains a first-floor window.

The building is set prominently at the junction of Bridge Street and Downshire Road. A ramped access to the front runs from south to north, enclosed by a parapet wall topped by metal railings. The rear is occupied by a bitumen car park enclosed by a rubble stone wall with coping stones topped by modern metal railings; replacement rustic brick piers support a modern metal gate.