The Former Oldham Joint Stock Bank, now HSBC

Summary

Bank. 1895, architect unknown. Ashlar sandstone, pink granite, slate roofs. Neo-classical style.

Reasons for Designation

The former Oldham Joint Stock Bank, now HSBC, 2 Yorkshire Street, Rochdale, of 1895, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural Interest: as a well-executed design in a grand, neo-classical style representative of bank architecture in being outwardly impressive and embodying a sense of reliability, confidence and security
* Materials: the building is constructed of high-quality ashlar and granite to the curved main elevation embellished with fine detailing of the stonework
* Interior: the banking hall retains an impressive elongated, hexagonal roof light containing high-quality leaded and stained glass in an Art Nouveau design over the banking hall
* Setting: the curving composition with higher central section maximises the bank's impact in a corner location and endows it with an eye-catching street presence which make it a positive asset to the visual quality of the town centre
* Group Value: the bank has a functional group value with other closely located listed banks in Rochdale town centre

History

The Oldham Joint Stock Bank was built in 1895 and replaced an earlier flannel warehouse belonging to John Leach & Sons which was shown on the First Edition 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map published in 1893. The labelled bank is shown on the Second Edition 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map published in 1910 situated in a prominent corner location at the foot of Yorkshire Street and adjacent to the main bridge over the River Roch. The architect is not known, but an historic photograph of c1902 shows that the main entrance had a classical porch of columns and entablature which was very similar in appearance to the porch of the Grade II former Oldham Joint Stock Bank (now HSBC) in Oldham. The latter was built in 1892 to designs by an architect named as Thomas Taylor. Banks often retained an architect to design their buildings and so it is possible that the Rochdale bank was also by Taylor.

In the early C20 the bank was acquired by the Midland Bank. The porch was removed before 1910 and the main entrance doorway was moved to the central bay of the three-bay centre section of the building.

The bank continues to operate and there has been a C21 refurbishment of the main banking hall.

Details

Bank. 1895, architect unknown. Ashlar sandstone, pink granite, slate roofs. Neo-classical style.

PLAN: curved plan of two and three storeys and basement. Banking hall on the ground floor of the central section with glass roof light to rear, offices, and a caretaker's flat in the east range.

EXTERIOR: the bank is in a prominent corner location at the junction of Yorkshire Street and The Butts. The curved front elevation has a three-storey central section of three bays and is flanked by two-storey ranges, of three bays on the left-hand side and four bays on the right-hand side. The façade is designed in a classical style and built of ashlar sandstone with a rock-faced pink granite plinth. There are moulded frieze bands between the ground and first floors and also the first and second floors of the higher central section, eaves entablatures with moulded dentil cornices, and a balustraded parapet to the central section. The ground floor has banded rustication across the entire façade with pilasters separating the bays of the side ranges. The central entrance bay projects slightly and has an over-sized round-headed doorway with over-sized, stepped voussoirs which break into the frieze band. It has a modern, aluminium and glazed door and blocked-in overlight. The keystone has a relief-carved shield. The ground-floor windows are round-headed with rusticated voussoirs, and timber mullion and transom frames with glazed semi-circular overlights. The first bay of the left-hand range has a round-headed archway to a passageway leading to a private side entrance with banded rustication to the reveals and soffit and a decorative iron railing gate with a circular flower motif to the arch head. The window in the second bay has a shallow, square-headed basement light in the plinth beneath. The rest of the plinth to the left-hand range is largely obscured by a modern access ramp rising adjacent to the wall to the top step of the central flight of steps to the entrance doorway. The third bay of the central section and the first and second bays of the right-hand range also have shallow, square-headed basement lights in the plinth. The plinth of the right-hand range deepens towards the outer corner. There is a doorway beneath the ground-floor window in the fourth bay with plain timber double doors. Giant engaged Tuscan columns rise through the first and second floors of the central section to support an entablature topped by a balustraded parapet. All the first-floor windows are square-headed with panelled architraves and canopies with enriched console brackets. The windows have timber mullion and transom frames. The three second-floor windows in the central section are round-headed with panelled architraves, enriched console brackets with lion heads, rusticated voussoirs and cyma reversa keystones.

INTERIOR: the ground floor has been partially opened up to enable modern banking practices, but the original wall divisions are discernable at ceiling level where deep, moulded and dentilled cornices remain. Towards the rear of the banking hall is an elongated octagonal roof light with decorative, geometric tracery set with Art Nouveau leaded and stained glass. The first and second floors retain moulded cornices to the rooms and there is a three-bay arcade on the first floor. A number of moulded and panelled door architraves and panelled doors remain throughout. The staircase at the east end of the building and the staircase to the cellar both have wooden, moulded, ramped handrails and plain, iron railing balustrades. There are two cast-iron fireplaces on the second floor.

EXCLUSIONS
The modern banking equipment, modern suspended ceilings, lighting, and partitions are not of special architectural interest and are excluded from the listing.

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