Survey Data
Reg No
20841031
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Previous Name
Munster and Leinster Bank
Original Use
Bank/financial institution
In Use As
Office
Date
1910 - 1930
Coordinates
112192, 33663
Date Recorded
26/06/2008
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Attached three-bay three-storey former bank, built c.1920, with bank front and integral rear-access entranceway to ground floor. Now in use as commercial premises. Carved limestone parapet to pitched roof with decorative red brick chimneystacks. Red brick walls to upper floors, recessed to edges accommodating decorative cast-iron rainwater goods. Square-headed openings with six-over-six timber sliding sash windows with cut and carved limestone surrounds incorporating pediments. Ashlar limestone bank front comprising carved plinth course supporting channelled piers flanking square-headed single-pane fixed timber framed display windows with cast-iron window guards, all surmounted by carved fascia board and frieze with cast-iron light fittings. Square-headed door opening to east end bay with carved limestone surround incorporating pediment and having overlight and timber panelled door. Square-headed carriage arch to west end bay with cut limestone surround.
Appraisal
An elegantly composed bank building retaining its original form and well-executed detailing. The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw banking as a business in Ireland grow to become the indispensable industry it is today, over that time financial institutions became associated with a Classical palazzo inspired style of architecture. The architectural design and high status of this building is apparent in its skilfully executed carvings, symmetrical composition and Classical motifs. The symmetrical arrangement skilfully incorporates an entrance door and rear-access entranceway flanking the central display windows. A formidable presence in the streetscape, the formal arrangement of this elevation contributes considerably to the architectural heritage of Skibbereen.