Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/18/065

Address :
Bank of Ireland 364 Lisburn Road Belfast BT9 6GL

Townland:
Malone Lower

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
23/11/2021 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Bank

Former Use
Bank

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
147/5

IG Ref:
J3207 7134

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Neo-Georgian style bank of 1935 by A.C.G. Millar of Dublin in rustic brick and painted stone, consisting of a tall single-storey with fully enclosed basement, and a smaller - and undoubtedy later - upper floor obscured by a high urn-bedecked parapet, with the building accessed via a Classical style doorway on a bevelled corner. To the rear is a large c.1970s+ single-level extension which has practically doubled the footprint. The bank (which closed in 2021 and was vacant at the time of this survey in July 2021) is prominently located at the junction of Lisburn and Bawnmore Roads, with a spacious ‘forecourt’ to the road-facing sides, that to the NW partially bounded by a low, mainly rendered wall. The original 1935 section of the building is L-shaped in plan and set on a NE-SW axis with the bevelled entrance corner facing directly W. At the intersection of the ‘L’ there is a relatively small stairwell projection (the upper section of which is recent - see below), whilst the extension wraps around almost the entire SE and NE elevations largely covering all of the original facades to these sides. All sections of the roof are flat and covered in asphalt. The roof of the SW portion of the original section is set at a slightly higher level and this is where the upper floor rooms are contained, lit by four large roof lights, with a projecting chimney stack (in matching materials to the main walls) rising to the E end. The differing heights in the roof are not observable from the ground, being effectively masked by the parapet. The walls of the original building are in English garden wall bond rustic brick with a tall painted stone plinth, cornice, parapet, door case, window surrounds and elements of Classical style decoration. There is a plain ‘boxed’ section of the cornice which appears to be in timber and is topped with scallop edged lead flashing - all of which appears to be a later addition (designed to to house cabling?). Extending downwards from the cornice at regular intervals are moulded drop floral / husk motifs (similar to the ends of festoons), whilst the parapet has central podium-like blocking courses to each elevation, each topped with urns. There are tall window openings to the main road-facing sides (three to NW, two to SW), set in shallow recesses with plain surrounds, panelled aprons and timber window frames which appear to be replacements. (The frames to the SW have most certainly been altered to account for the fact the upper floor now cuts across them.) The entrance, reached via a short flight of recently-tiled steps with a disabled-access ramp to the SW side, consists of a timber panelled double door, overlight with brass and lead[?] tracery, and a surround with a hood on console brackets under which are floral / husk motifs as the cornice, with wreath decoration within the frieze. To the immediate right of the entrance is a boarded-up space where the ATM was and to the immediate left is a small painted stone panel which presumably once held a nameplate, whilst high above each of these are Neo-Georgian light fittings. To far right on the NW side is the boarded-up night safe opening with small (later) opening with metal door to the immediate left of this and a letter box to immediate right, whilst high above is a projecting clock, with two angled faces; this clock is a post-1987 addition. An original wall extends at the NE end of the NW side which has a recent-looking pedestrian gate next to the wall of the neighbouring property. At the SE end of the SW side there is an original vehicle gateway with iron spearhead gates and a pillar similar to the main walls. As stated above, the rear elevations are largely covered by the extension. There are several (relatively squat) high-level windows on the still exposed upper parts of the original walls, all facing NE and all with replacement timber frames. The extension itself is in sympathetic rustic brick (with slightly different tones indicating various phases of construction), but is plain and functional and as such of little architectural interest. The SE-facing wall of the stairwell projection is in recent brick also. Walls: Brick and painted stone Roof: Asphalt Windows: Timber RWGS: Could not be observed on original secrion of bulding

Architects

Millar, A G C

Historical Information

This building - until recently a branch of the Bank of Ireland - was constructed in 1935-36 to replace temporary premises which had opened in September 1932 at ‘731 Lisburn Road, Balmoral’. The new purpose-built branch was designed by Adam Gerald Chaytor Millar of Dublin (1874-1957), who served as the BOI’s architect from 1907 until 1943, and the contractor was William Dowling of Cromwell Rd, Belfast. In its original form the bank was roughly L-shaped in plan and consisted of the main single storey and the basement. Sometime between 1966 and 1981 an extension was added to the eastern / north-eastern side, which was enlarged at some date after this. The upper level was probably created at the same time as the second phase of enlargement, with a photograph of July 1987 suggesting that this change occurred after this date. There have been several minor but noteworthy changes to the Lisburn Road and Bawnmore Road frontages also, including the removal of raised lettering spelling out of the bank’s name from the raised sections of the parapets, the removal of a tall rooftop flag pole, the alteration to the cornice, the addition of the projecting clock, and the insertion of an ATM; the first two of these was carried out after c.1957, with all of the rest post-1987. Plans dated 2013 show that the present layout of the banking hall as well as the configuration of partitioned rooms within the extension date from this year or shortly afterwards. The branch closed in Spring 2021 and the building is currently vacant. References - Primary sources 1 ‘Northern Whig’, 8 September 1932 p.1; 31 March 1937 p.3 2 IAA Bank of Ireland drawings collection (Acc. 2006/65), 1935 [HED have not yet been unable to consult these plans.] 3 ‘Belfast Telegraph', 26 July 1935, p.2 4 ‘Belfast News-Letter’, 25 September 1935 p.10; 30 November 1935 p.10; 30 March 1937 p.10 5 ‘Irish Builder’ vol. 77, August, November, December 1935; vol.81 18 March 1939 6 OS maps 1938, 1957, 1965, 1981 7 Photograph of Lisburn Road showing Regal Cinema and Bank of Ireland c.1957 (in HED file) 8 HERoNI Photograph of Bank of Ireland, 364 Lisburn Road, July 1987 9 Plans by RPP Architects showing existing main floor and proposed alterations to the same, February 2013 Secondary sources 10 Hall, F.G., ‘History of the Bank of Ireland’, (Dublin, 1949), p.408 11 Larmour, Paul, ‘The architectural heritage of Malone and Stranmillis’, (UAHS, Belfast, 1991), p.81 Online sources 12 IAA online https://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting

Historic Interest

R. Age V. Authorship Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance X. Local Interest

Evaluation

The former Lisburn Road branch of the Bank of Ireland is a compact and neatly-composed, single-storey building. Broadly Neo-Georgian in style and built in 1935 in rustic brick and painted stone, the building was designed by the Bank’s then architect A.G.C. Millar. Prominently sited at the intersection with Bawnmore Road, it is an attractive, eye-catching structure with a memorable corner entrance designed to take advantage of its junction setting, with both the doorway and the street frontages as a whole possessing fine Classical detailing, most notably parapets decked with urns. The layout of the bank has evolved over the last century, including the addition of a sizeable rear extension and the reconfiguring of the internal space to include an upper level. These changes have not seriously diminished the building's overall composition and detailing; The building acts as a local landmark for the Lisburn Road Conservation Area, being largely in its original setting.

General Comments

Date of Survey

06 July 2021