Halifax Bank, 24 The Diamond, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT52 1HL

Halifax Bank, 24 The Diamond, Coleraine — a three-storey Victorian Italianate palazzo-style bank building, constructed around 1860, forming an important part of the north side of The Diamond, Coleraine's main public square. It sits in close proximity to several other listed historic structures on the square, including the Town Hall, the Orr Memorial, and No. 14 The Diamond, and together these buildings define the historic character of the town centre. Its immediate neighbour to the north-west is a large modernist concrete building, which provides a striking contrast.

EXTERIOR

The building is terraced and largely symmetrical, rectangular on plan, and four openings wide across its principal south-facing elevation. The ground floor is faced in ashlar sandstone, while the upper floors are built in Flemish-bonded red brick, with sandstone dressings throughout, including a series of moulded sill and string courses running across the south elevation. The pitched slate roof has large areas of replacement slates to the rear. A parapet runs across the south elevation and extends northward, finished with stone coping and grey angled ridge tiles. A projecting modillioned sandstone cornice sits at the parapeted eaves of the south elevation.

The ground floor windows are moulded and round-headed, with projecting keystones. First-floor windows are squared with raised stone architraves and projecting sills supported on profiled brackets. Second-floor windows are segmental-headed, also with raised stone architraves, projecting sills on profiled brackets, and keystones. Unless noted otherwise, all windows are 1-over-1 timber sashes with horns. The principal south elevation is arranged with four openings on each level. The first floor has a plain entablature and a balustraded stone balcony to its centre, while the upper floor carries keystones to its segmental-headed windows. The ground-floor windows have been replaced with metal-frame units, and the far right opening has been partially infilled and modified to accommodate an ATM, with the plinth cut away for this purpose.

The main entrance is a round-headed opening positioned to the left of the south elevation. It has a plain glass fanlight in a timber frame above a six-panelled timber door with brass furniture, approached via contemporary rendered steps fitted with tubular steel handrails.

The west elevation is smooth rendered and unpainted, blank, and abutted by the neighbouring building. The north elevation is also rendered; on the left side it has uPVC windows with projecting rendered sills, while the central windows are original timber sashes with glazing bars intact. The right side is abutted by a small lean-to return with uPVC windows to both cheeks. The entire ground floor of the north elevation is abutted by a flat-roofed extension, with further flat-roofed modern additions extending to the north and east — all dating from the later 20th century and considered of no interest. The east elevation is similar to the west, except for some areas of exposed brickwork. Replacement metal ogee rainwater goods are fitted to the rear only.

SETTING

The building fronts directly onto The Diamond in the heart of Coleraine town. Access to the rear is via steps and two metal-sheeted timber doors leading into the rear extensions. A rubblestone wall bounds the alleyway to the west, and neighbouring buildings abut to the east.

HISTORY

The current building replaced an earlier banking house on the same site. The Northern Banking Company Limited, established in 1824, first opened a branch in Coleraine in 1835, run by their agent Thomas Black. That earlier building appears on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1830 and is thought to have originally been a domestic dwelling taken over for banking purposes. The Townland Valuation of 1828–40 lists it as the residence of Thomas Black, describing a structure valued at £37 9s 6d and 27 feet high, with a return, outbuildings, a crop store, a piggery, stables, a store for vitriol, and a wine vault. Valuation records suggest the building was later purchased for £1,260.

By the time of Griffith's Valuation of 1856–64, reconstruction was underway for James Macauley, the bank manager, and the building was valued at £60, described as a three-storey banking house with two returns and a two-storey outbuilding. The building provided residential accommodation for the manager, and the 1901 census records the occupant as George Wilson, who lived in the nine-room, first-class bank with his Indian-born wife, their 12-year-old son, and a general domestic servant.

In 1924 the valuation was nearly doubled to £110 following an enlargement and improvement of the bank offices at a cost of £1,602, though no changes were made to the front elevation. Valuer's notes from the 1930s record the ground-floor accommodation as comprising a cash office, manager's office, strong room, hall, kitchen, and scullery; the first floor as three reception rooms, a bathroom and WC, a bedroom, and a boxroom; and the second floor as four bedrooms. By 1953 the upper floors had been let out as offices to the Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1970 the Northern Banking Company Limited merged with the Belfast Banking Company Limited to form Northern Bank Limited. The company was subsequently acquired by the Danish-based Danske Bank Group in 2005.

The building was listed in 1977. By 1979 it was occupied by the Halifax, who carried out internal alterations, cleaned and repaired the façade, and replaced the windows. Since survey photographs were first taken in the 1970s, further changes have included the replacement of windows damaged in a bomb blast in 1992, the introduction of bank branding and signage, the cutting away of the plinth to install a cash machine, and the fitting of entrance handrails. The building continues in use as a bank, with the upper floors let as offices.