Banks saved

Since May 2016, 600 banks have closed in the UK; Lucinda Merriman finds out how our banks are being saved and deposited back into the community.

Ladies & Gentlemen cocktail bar

Take a walk down the high street in many of our smaller towns or cities and you will see that the buildings have changed enormously over the years. Once thriving communities, they no longer offer a range of different shops or businesses - every other shop is a charity, fast food or a coffee chain. 

As shops, factories and banks close, people find less and less reasons to visit these soulless places, investment is withdrawn as sales move on line and out of the city centres to large sterile retail parks.

It’s encouraging to see therefore that at least some of our historic buildings are being saved and regenerated.  Underground public loos in London are being turned in to novelty cocktail bars, traditional red phone boxes in Birmingham are now trendy micro cafes and by 2022 the London Museum will be relocating to its new home in the renovated and adapted buildings of the western end of Smithfield’s Market. 

While the Landmark Trust is busy saving the more exciting end of the spectrum of abandoned or dilapidated buildings such as castles, forts or follies, it is left to consortiums or private investors to save the more mundane structures.

Banks are closing all over the country at an alarming rate; in May this year Rebecca Wearn, Business Reporter for BBC News, reported that: "More than 600 bank branches have closed across Britain over the past year."  The data included information from Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Santander, Barclays and the Co-operative and it seems that rural communities, especially in remote parts of Wales, Scotland and South-West England are most effected.

In the 19^th Century, banks were built in the most opulent, grandiose fashion as displays of wealth aimed to convince potential customers to invest in these establishments.  Built by leading architects of the time, scores are listed, having historical significance, and frequently they have an interesting story to tell.

The Old Bank of England restaurant and pub

Built in 1888 on the site of two former 16^th Century taverns in Fleet Street, London, the Law Court’s branch of The Bank of England traded for 87 years. Lovingly restored in 1994 by London brewers Fuller, Smith and Turners, The Old Bank of England is now a restaurant and pub. 

It’s lavish interiors and original features make it a stylish venue and it’s reputed to have some infamous historical neighbours. This site is said to have been once sandwiched between Sweeney Todd’s barber’s and Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop and it was in the tunnels and vaults below the building that the victims were butchered before becoming pies. An interesting claim, given Sweeney Todd and his accomplice were fictional but I would like think if there is any grain of truth to this well-known urban myth, that it happened either side of The Old Bank of England.

The Gotham Hotel

‘King of King Street’ the impossibly impressive former Midland Bank headquarters, 100 King Street, Manchester was designed in 1928 by Edwin Lutyens and decorated by local sculptor John Aston Floyd in a classic Art Deco cenotaph style.  

Taking 7 years to complete, this Manchurian ‘skyscraper’ traded as a bank until 2008 when it was acquired by a developer and restored by Aura Conservation. Christened ‘The Gotham’, in a playful nod to the iconic New York skyline, this Grade 2 listed building is now an elegant 5-star hotel with a Jamie Oliver restaurant in the main banking hall.

Last of our interesting trio is an ex-Lloyds bank head office in Bristol. Built in 1856 by architect William Bruce Gingell, inspired by Sansovino's Library in the Piazzetta, Venice, considered to be one of the major architectural works of the 16th Century.  Long considered as an iconic historical building in Bristol, the bank has been converted into a prestigious luxury hotel - Bristol Harbour Hotel which opens in October this year. 

The Bristol Harbour Hotel

Its spa is cleverly located in the vast bank vaults and its entertaining to ponder how once these vaults were where people saved money, when now they are where they spend large amounts of cash.

It’s heartening to see that these fine buildings are being saved but it seems ironic that people now enjoy spending time in these formerly austere and institutionalised spaces, where only a Bank Manager or robber would happily have spent time.

Their rejuvenation brings jobs and prosperity back into these areas but we should spare a thought for the former bank’s customers.  The decline of these financial institutions is a contentious subject as a minority of people struggle to come to terms with modern banking methods and the lack of face-to-face interaction. 

It may also be that many local residents don’t have the resources to enjoy the 5-star exclusive spaces that the developers are creating, which theoretically causes further fragmentation of these communities. It is certainly a discussion that will gather interest!