Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/50/187

Address :
Bank of Ireland 92-100 Royal Avenue Belfast Co Antrim BT1 1DL

Townland:
Town Parks

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Survey 1:
B+

Date of Listing:
10/01/1990 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:
130/13 NE

IG Ref:
J3370 7460

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A four storey Art Deco bank building with basement and tower on canted corner sitting on the northwest corner of Royal Avenue and North Street. Built in 1930 by J. V. Downes of McDonnell and Dixon of Dublin. The flat roof is unseen behind parapet, the curved roof of the corner tower is copper sheeting. The walls are ashlar Portland Stone, the parapet has stepped 'keystone' blocks; the walls have full height pilasters and slit recesses, decorative panels; the tiered corner tower has stepped corners. The windows have flat lintels; the main windows are diminishing and have decorated metal apron panels decorated with ears of corn at second floor and at first floor level similarly decorated with "BANK OF IRELAND" under, set in three storey stepped stone recesses, the lintels are decorated with rectangles; over each opening is a panel decorated with ears of corn in low relief. The windows are metal framed, generally 6 pane with top hung lights. The doors are metal framed with decorative framing set in front of glazing, each doorway has double doors with an overlight. The southeast elevation has a canted corner to the south rising to a tower, secondary entrance bay to the north rising as a pier to the fourth floor; between these the fourth floor is set back behind the parapet. The corner is one window wide, the remaining elevation is four windows wide. The canted corner has a window opening rising from first to second floor, a window opening to the fourth floor and the tower has vertical slit recesses and a square clock; the sides of the central entrance way is framed by chamfered pilasters, a panel over has an exaggerated keystone and original carved in relief, painted black lettering “BANK OF IRELAND”, a figurative head of the Greek goddess Medusa in low stone relief over doorway, granite steps. The three windows to the right of the corner rise vertically between floors, the extreme right hand windows to the first and second floors are 6 paned, the ground floor 3 paned window sits over the doorway which has a flat, stepped architrave of slightly raised stone incorporating a panel over with original carved in relief, painted black letters “BANK OF IRELAND BUILDINGS”. Basement windows are multi paned. The southwest elevation generally matches the southeast elevation except it has two full height windows and the openings in the northern stonework are vertical slits with 3 paned windows. The northwest elevation is abutted by a two storey building. The northeast elevation is abutted by a modern building. Setting The Bank of Ireland is a landmark building forming a visual stop at the end of Royal Avenue and North Street. It sits on a major junction which has listed buildings on each corner: HB26/50/068 to NE, HB26/50/186 to SE, HB26/50/184 to SW. Roof: Copper/unseen. Walls: stone. Windows: Metal RWG: Unseen

Architects

Downes, Joseph. Vincent.

Historical Information

Nos 92-100 Royal Avenue, a four-storey Art Deco Bank of Ireland located at the corner of Royal Avenue and North Street, was constructed between 1928 and 1930 to designs by Joseph Vincent Downes. The Dictionary of Irish Architects notes that Downes (c. 1890 – 1967) was a Dublin-based architect who became a partner in the practise McDonnell & Dixon in 1927. The Art Deco Bank of Ireland was the first contact Downes completed upon becoming a partner; he remained with McDonnell & Dixon until establishing an independent practise in 1935. Downes’ Art Deco design was executed in Portland stone and was constructed by the local building firm, J & R. Thompson. Upon its completion, the Irish Builder described the Bank of Ireland as ‘frankly modern in design [and] the best modern building in Belfast’ (Irish Builder, pp 184-563; Dictionary of Irish Architects). The bank was first valued in the Annual Revisions in 1930, shortly upon its completion; in that year the building was valued at £794, however this was almost immediately reduced to £713 after the bank’s governors and directors appealed against an overly high rating. Under the First General Revaluation of property in Northern Ireland (1935) the total rateable value of the building was increased to £1,076; the valuer noted that the Bank of Ireland occupied the entire building although one of the upper offices was leased out to Charles Tennant & Co. Northern Ireland, a building materials supplier (who continue to operate in Belfast from offices on the Ravenhill Road). There was no further revaluation carried out to the building for over two decades due to the disruption caused by the outbreak of the Second World War, however in the aftermath of the conflict the building was included in the second general revaluation. By the end of the second revaluation in 1972 the Bank of Ireland and Charles Tennant & Co. continued to occupy the site; however a number of minor firms had also taken over some office space in the building in the interim. In the 1970s the total rateable value of the bank had been increased to £1,342. Prior to the erection of the Bank of Ireland in 1928-30, the corner of Royal Avenue and North Street was occupied by the gin palace of J. A. Armstrong, which has been described as one of Belfast’s ‘landmark bars.’ Photographs from c. 1908 record that the building was three-storeys in height, whilst writing on the façade advertised Armstrong’s business as ‘importers of wine.’ Patton states that the gin palace was known as the Palace Chambers and was designed in 1900 by J. J. McDonnell (1857-1924); he described the building as a ‘three-storey brick and stucco building with barrel roof dormers [and in contract to the current Art Deco bank provided] a less dramatic corner and one that did not reach the standard Royal Avenue height, but was attractive nonetheless’ (Patton, p. 289; Pollock & Parkhill, p. 81). Larmour states that McDonnell & Dixon’s original plans for the site called for the erection of a building in a ‘predictable Baroque mode,’ however due to the intervention of their new partner, Joseph Vincent Downes, the current modern Art Deco design was settled upon. The bank was constructed with Portland stone erected around a steel frame; the Bank of Ireland on Royal Avenue is an excellent example of the experimentation of the interwar years and, although only his first contract with McDonnell & Dixon, is a notable early work by Downes who went on the establish himself as a leading figure of the Irish Modernist Movement (Larmour, p. 83). Although it stands as one of the finest examples of the Art Deco movement in Northern Ireland, the Bank of Ireland does not stand in isolation but was constructed opposite nos 89-93 Royal Avenue (see HB26/50/186A), a contemporary experiment in Art Deco, which fused modern faience with classical features; in 1935 this was followed by nos 95-101 Royal Avenue (HB26/50/186B), a more blatant expression of the movement which is comparable to the Bank of Ireland, erected some five years prior, in its use of geometric features and the employment of a modern clock tower. The Bank of Ireland was listed in 1990; Patton, writing in 1993, described the bank as an ‘Art Deco building in Portland stone, with tiered clock tower on chamfered corner to North Street. Steps up to corner doorcase with art deco fanlight and stylised female head in shallow relief over lettering; main windows in vertical strips with base panels carrying decoration of ears of corn. The original lettering over the entrance is plain but stylish’ (Patton, p. 289). In the late-20th century the northernmost three bays were added, extending the bank along its Royal Avenue elevation; this extension was designed in a style sympathetic to the original building and employed similar features such as the long vertical glazing. The Bank of Ireland on Royal Avenue closed in 2005 after over 75 years of operation; since falling vacant, the Bank has fallen into a state of dereliction and has been added to the NIEA’s Buildings at Risk Register. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1901-02 2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1931 3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1938 1. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/C/40-44 - Annual Revisions 1924-1930 2. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/13 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935 3. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/41 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972 4. Belfast Street Directories (1901-1918) 5. Irish Builder, Vol. 72 (1 Mar; 26 Apr; 21 Jun) 6. Ordnance Survey Map – 130-13NE (1959-60) Secondary Sources 1. ‘Buildings at Risk: Vol. 7’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2005 2. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. 3. Patton, M., ‘Central Belfast: An historical gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1993. 4. Pollock, V; Parkhill, T., ‘Britain in old photographs: Belfast’ Gloucestershire, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1997. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H+. Alterations enhancing the building J. Setting

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest V. Authorship Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A four storey Art Deco building built in 1930 to designs by J V Downes of McDonnell & Dixon of Dublin. A fine unaltered example of the Art Deco style in both its massing, its vertical emphasis and the detailed stone features and metal window panels and doors. Much historic fabric and detailing survive and it is of significance as an early example of the use of a steel frame structure. It represents the development of commerce in the City centre, both in the expansion along Royal avenue and the early/mid Twentieth century.

General Comments

Date of Survey

11 February 2013