The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-10 00:00:00

CITY IMPROVEMENTS.

The National Provincial Bank of England, which
has been established 33 years, and has now 108
branches, opens business in London to-day, at
their new premises in Bishopsgate - street and
Waterloo-place, under the recent act of Mr. Glad-
stone relieving banks of issue from the disabilities
under which they laboured in London. The chief
office in Bishopsgate forms an angle with Thread-
needle-street, where it joins South Sea houses,
and comprises the old site of the bank, which was
known as the old Mansion House, and stood back in
a courtyard from the main street, and the once
famous hostelry, the Flower Pot, from which the
greater part of the stage traffic for the east used,
prior to the railway extensions, to start. Owing to
the rather awkward situation of the ground he had
to deal with, so as not to intrench on the rights or
destroy the lights of other parties, the architect,
Mr. John Gibson, had some difficulty to contend
with, but he has succeeded in producing one of the
handsomest buildings in the City, and a decided
ornament to the neighbourhood. The principal
front of the building in Bishopsgate-street is about
53ft. in height. The columns attached are 30ft.
10in. in height, and are placed on pedestals and a
surbase, which together rise 9ft. Bin. from the pave-
ment where the ground is lowest. The shafts, cabled
the entire height, are 25f t. Bin. in height ; the capi-
tals, of composite character, but freshly designed,
and each with a lion's head in the centre between the
volutes, are 3ft. 6in. in height, and the bases are If.
Bin. The entablature is 7ft. Bin. The blocking
course is 2ft. 10in. The figure, or group, in each
case, is about 9ft. 3in. in height, with its pedestal,
or Bft. without. The windows in the main front are
15ft. 6in. in height to the crown, and Eft. 9in. in
the clear width. Each is glazed with a single sheet
of glass. The entablature is devoid of moulding,
its main features being dentils and block medal-
lions, but upon the frieze are the words in gilt
letters, " National Protection Bank of England,"
whilst the names of the various branches are cut on
the reveals of the entrance. Sculpture in groups,
single figures, and panels, has contributed largely
to the effect of the exterior. The groups are over
the coupled columns ; the single figures are over
the single columns. Commencing from the farthest
point on the rounded end of the building, we have
Manchester, represented by a single figure, and
having as " supporters," seated, a negro with raw
cotton, and a workman with a bale of goods ; next
we have England, represented by St. George, and
supported by Britannia holding a wreath and shield,
and by a female figure to represent Navigation ; next
comes St. David of Wales, with an old harper, and a
miner with his pickaxe ; the next is a single female
figure, representing Birmingham, and having the
hammer and anvil ; then there is a figure with a
tazza, emblematic of Newcastle and the pottery dis-
tricts ; next is Dover, with a mortar and shot ; and
lastly, is a fourth group, which represents London,
by a female figure with a mitral crown, and holding
a key, this figure being supported by one of old
Father Thames, and by a female figure, with fruits
of the earth, to typify abundance. The six panels,
following the same direction, are filled with subjects
representing the arts, commerce, science, manufac-
tures, agriculture, and navigation. The circular
panel of the entrance doorway situated at the corner
of Threadneedle-street is filled with the arms of
England and France. The interior of the building
provides, on the ground floor, the banking-room,
the principal entrance, circular vestibule, and wait-
ing-rooms, the board room, directors' room for tak-
ing luncheon, two managers' rooms, a safe or strong
room, a waiting hall, and the principal staircase and
side entrance, besides various lifts, secondary stairs,
lavatories and conveniences. On the basement the
whole space below the banking room is appropriated
for storage of books. There is also a strong room,
similar to that above ; and there are a clerks'
luncheon-room, store-rooms for stationery, apart-
ments for one of the resident messengers, and ex-
tensive lavatories and conveniences at each end of
the building for the clerks. On the basement is the
only communication there is, except that through
the banking room, between the front and back por-
tions of the building. The upper portion of that part
of the building contains one of the residences,besides
a large space comprising a room 49ft. by 15ft.,
available in the event of extension of business. In
the rear main building, ou the one-pair story,
which forms a mezzanine to the banking-room, are
offices for the securities and advance departments,
and for the secretary, and a third strong-room. In
the floor above there is an office, 49ft. by 20ft., for
annual meetings and future extensions ; and there
are offices for an inspector, and for the advance-
ledger department, and a kitchen and scullery for
the resident clerk, approached by a private stair.
The top floor is set apart entirely for the resident
clerk's accommodation. The banking-room measures
about 118 ft. in the clear length; and about 50ft. in
breadth, including the recesses. The height to the
soffit of the girders is 27ft. ; and that to the highest
part of the domical light internally is 38ft. The cir-
cumstances of adjoining property have led to the
decorative features which chiefly give the architec-
tural character of the room. These include the pro-
jections from the side walls, carrying the main gir-
ders, the bracket-formed member rising from each of
these piers to the soffit of the girder, and the very
bold cove which springs from the cornice of the order.
Then, as to the support for the girders—on one side
of the building the external part of the wall had
to be kept down ; and to get proper support the
thickness had to be projected internally. The brick-
work of the piers had to be carried straight up to sup-
port the end of the transverse ormain girders. These
are of boxed plate-iron, and are 2ft. 6in. in depth,
and have a span of about 41ft. - The main girders
carry longitudinal plate girders ; on these latter the
bracketing of the cove rests. Each one of the three
tu
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tagon by diagonal bridging girders, and the octagon
framing (afterwards finished as a circle in plaster)
carries the cast-iron ribs of the domical light. These
last are bolted at the top to a ring which carries the
pendant of the ventilating and artificial lighting sys-
tem. Here a large tube or pipe carries the foul air