Bank of Ireland, 1-2 The Diamond, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT52 1DE

Bank of Ireland, 1–2 The Diamond, Coleraine

This is a substantial, ornately detailed three-storey asymmetrical corner bank building, constructed around 1922–23 to designs by Nicholas Fitzsimons of the Belfast architectural practice Tulloch and Fitzsimons. It stands at the prominent junction of The Diamond and Stone Row, dominating the south-east corner of The Diamond, and is widely regarded as one of the finest surviving early 20th century commercial buildings in Coleraine. The two main elevations are faced in Ham Hill stone, a warm-toned limestone shipped from Yeovil in Somerset, with dressings of the same material used throughout. The contractors were Messrs Wm Dowling and Co Ltd of Belfast, and the clerk of works was Mr Frank H Pearse of Trowbridge. The total construction cost was £10,000.

Architectural Character and Exterior

The building is roughly rectangular on plan and sits as a corner terrace, with its principal elevation facing north onto The Diamond and its east elevation fronting Stone Row. The ground floor and all stone dressings are in ashlar horizontally channelled limestone laid over a projecting base course. The upper floors are finished in roughcast, framed by incised giant pilasters decorated with carved laurel wreaths — carved in situ — at the quoin positions. All window dressings are in limestone throughout.

The roof is pitched and slated, with lead-covered ridges. Roughcast chimneys to the gables carry terracotta pots. A modern skylight and three air-conditioning vents are present on the south side. Replacement metal ogee-profile rainwater goods are fitted to all elevations except the western, mounted on a continuous projecting modillion eaves course. A decorative hopper dated 1922 is located to the north-west, and a downpipe to the south-east is embedded within the wall behind a string course.

The east elevation is asymmetrical and gabled, with modillions to the overhanging gable forming a triangular pediment. At its centre is an oculus set within a raised round-arched architrave, surmounted by a projecting keystone and hood mould. Three matching windows are arranged across the ground floor of this elevation; the remaining upper-floor windows sit within plain architraves, with the second-floor window being notably diminutive. A decorative iron and copper lamp is fitted to the south-east corner.

The principal north elevation comprises two outer doorways flanking two mullioned and transomed windows at ground floor level. These windows are timber-framed with multi-light upper portions; their moulded mullions are supported on stone plinths within splayed reveals. At first floor, two tripartite windows are divided by thick mullions. Across the upper floor, four single windows share a common sill course and have projecting chamfered columns as architraves. The two doorways on the north side have replacement double-leaf six-panel timber doors with multi-light thick-framed transoms over; the reveals to the upper portions are slightly chamfered, and vestiges of decorative carving survive at the north-west door case.

Generally, windows throughout the building are square-headed one-over-one replacement timber sashes set within chamfered stone architraves, with a continuous moulded sill course running across the first-floor windows.

A limited inspection of the south elevation indicates that it is largely blank and almost entirely abutted by an associated gabled two-storey building. The west elevation, abutted by the neighbouring terrace, is visible only as a smooth rendered gable.

Abutting Buildings

A mid-20th century two-storey roughcast building abuts the south elevation of the main bank. It has a gabled east elevation rising above the eaves line, a slated roof, and replacement metal rainwater goods. Its windows sit in plain rendered architraves with concrete sills: two at ground floor level matching those of the main building, and a single one-over-one sash above. A similarly detailed single-storey building further abuts to the south, with a replacement timber sheeted door, two plain sashes to the left, and an enlarged window to the right similar to the main building's ground-floor windows. Both of these subsidiary buildings form part of the bank accommodation but are of little architectural interest.

Interior and Accommodation

According to valuation records from the 1930s, the building was centrally heated at ground-floor level. The basement contained a strong room, heating chamber, and store room. The ground floor housed a public office, manager's room, lavatories, a porter's room, kitchen, scullery, and pantry. The first and second floors provided the bank manager's residential accommodation, comprising three reception rooms, four bedrooms, a butler's pantry, bathroom, and WC. A garage for the manager's motor vehicle was located to the rear. The Irish Builder reported in June 1923 that the office accommodation and equipment were fitted out on "the most modern lines." An interior refurbishment took place in 2013.

History and Context

The Bank of Ireland was established in Dublin in 1783 as the country's first public bank, licensed to issue its own banknotes and appointed to act as government banker. Until 1825, all its business was conducted from its Dublin office, but increasing competition led it to open branches around Ireland throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. The first Coleraine branch opened in 1904. The present building was constructed following partition, at a point when the bank had been appointed official banker to the Irish Government. It was built on the site of a former licensed house and first appears on the fourth edition Ordnance Survey map of 1923. The building entered valuation records in 1924 as a "bank house, offices and yard," valued at £150.

The building was listed in 1977 and has remained in continuous use as a branch of the Bank of Ireland. It has been preserved largely as originally built, though it suffered significant bomb damage in 1992, which required repairs and reconstruction to the chimneys and pediment. This restoration work was carried out using Ham Hill stone sourced from the original Somerset quarry. Changes recorded since the first survey photograph of the 1970s include replacement windows to the ground and first floors and the opening of a second doorway to the left of the main north elevation.

Setting

The building occupies a prominent corner position on the south-east side of The Diamond, with its east elevation and associated abutments fronting directly onto Stone Row. Access to the main building is via concrete steps to the eastern door on the principal north elevation; universal access is provided through a replacement timber sheeted door in the southern single-storey abutment. The building sits in close proximity to several other historic structures around The Diamond, including the Town Hall, the War Memorial, and No. 24 The Diamond.