Northern Bank, 15 The Square, Crossgar, Co Down, BT30 9EE

Northern Bank, 15 The Square, Crossgar

This mildly Classical but relatively plain two-storey bank building with banker's residence was constructed around 1924-25 by the Belfast Banking Company. The building sits on the west side of The Square with a single-storey extension to the north, added around 1980. The structure features a hipped roof covered in natural slate with two cast iron skylights to the front and one to the south. A tall brick chimney stack rises from the parapet to the north, with a shorter stack rising from the roof to the south.

The eastern front façade is asymmetrical. The main entrance, positioned left of centre on the ground floor, comprises panelled timber double doors with a simple moulded architrave and keystone, accessed via splayed steps with simple geometric railings. To the left of the entrance is a sash window with a similar surround but without keystone. To the right of the doorway are two slightly broader windows with mullioned and transomed frames and matching surrounds. A further similar window sits to the far right, contained within the single-storey extension. All ground floor windows rest on a cill course. The first floor has four sash windows matching those to the left of the entrance, resting on a broad moulded course with cornice forming a cill. This broad course carries plastic lettering spelling out the bank's name. A plastic projecting sign appears to the right of the entrance.

The southern façade has two sash windows on each floor, positioned to the centre and right. The northern façade of the main building has a centrally located first-floor window similar to those on the south façade; the single-storey extension to the north appears blank. The western rear elevation features a large flat-roofed single-storey section with a blank western face. Plain sheeted doors are positioned on the north and south faces, the latter reached via steps. The ground floor of the main building's western elevation has a sash window to the far left. The first floor has sash windows to the centre and left, then a larger mullioned and transomed window with stained glass to the right of centre, and a sash window to the far right. The rear face of the single-storey section has four modern windows, with a small basement-level window to the far left.

The façade is finished in rusticated render and rough cast, with in-and-out quoins to the first floor. The rear section is mainly rough cast, with rusticated and plain render to the north face. All façades are painted. The building is topped with a dentilled cornice and simple parapet above, with a chamfered plinth at ground level. The hipped roof extension to the north mirrors the main building's roof design.

The Belfast Banking Company established this purpose-built branch around 1924-25, replacing an earlier informal banking presence within Crossgar. The company, along with the Ulster Bank and Northern Banking Company, had previously maintained a part-time weekly branch in the village since at least 1886, operating also on fair days (the second Wednesday of each month). The building occupies land partly site of a house built sometime after 1863. In around 1970, when the Belfast Banking Company was taken over by the Midland Bank, it was renamed the Northern Bank and has continued to operate from this location. The extension to the north appears to have been added after 1978 and represents a later alteration to the original design.