Survey Data
Reg No
50020267
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social
Original Use
Bank/financial institution
In Use As
Hotel
Date
1870 - 1880
Coordinates
316015, 234186
Date Recorded
16/02/2015
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Corner-sited L-plan attached four-bay four-story over basement and with attic accommodation former office, built 1875, having six-bay front to College Street (south), and two-bay three-storey block with dormer attic and half-dormer window to east. Now in use as bank, with hotel accommodation to upper levels. Hipped slate roof, having ashlar sandstone chimneystacks with clay pots, carved sandstone eaves course having decorative brackets, gabled dormer windows with decorative bargeboards and trefoil openings. Ashlar sandstone walls having carved string course, plinth course, limestone roundels with swags and foliate details, some having crests, one bearing rampant lion. Square-headed limestone panel with moulded sandstone surround having circular boss detail. Square-headed carved limestone panels with sandstone architraves, oculi to one. Square-headed window openings to former basement windows, now blocked, painted grilles over. Square-headed window openings having carved architraves and continuous sill course to third floor, round-headed window openings to second floor, those to south elevation set within square-headed Portland stone recess with carved sandstone surround, columns having Corinthian capitals dividing bays, carved Portland stone surrounds. Those to west elevation paired and set within shallow pedimented carved sandstone surrounds, timber casement windows throughout. Balconies with limestone panelled and open balustrade supported on moulded sandstone brackets, having lion figure or foliate detail. Segmental-headed recessed window openings to first floor, carved sandstone surrounds and keystones, sandstone cornice forming continuous sill course. Paired window openings to upper floors of west elevation. Square-headed recessed window openings to ground floor, carved sandstone architraves and continuous carved sandstone sill course, bays divided by ashlar pilasters supporting carved entablature having dentillated cornice. One–over-one pane timber sliding sash windows, timber framed casement windows and timber framed fixed pane windows. Tripartite window opening to ground floor set in ordered round-headed architrave with fluted tympanum supported on Ionic columns, within square-headed recess having foliate carving to intrados, forming overlight to shouldered door opening with shouldered sidelight having cast-iron panel over. Carved sandstone fascia with brass lettering and beaded cornice. Round-headed door openings to front and south elevations, carved stepped surrounds, opening to south having foliate details to spandrels, set in square-headed recesses. Double-leaf timber panelled door to south elevation, half-glazed timber panelled doors and timber battened door to front. Plain fanlights throughout. Timber panels and carved fluted columns to interior. Sited at junction of Westmoreland Street and College Street.
Appraisal
Built as the offices of Scottish Widows Insurance in 1875 to designs of the prolific architect T.N. Deane (1827-1899), this impressive building has a commanding presence on the junction. The limestone panels and balconies form a pleasing contrast with the vibrant hues of the ashlar sandstone walls, while the well-executed detailing, internally as well as externally, adds further artistic interest. These masonry details remain sharp, possibly as a result of their renovation and repair in 1912 by the contractor S.H. Bolton under the guidance of T.M. Deane. The Venetian Renaissance style of the building complements and contrasts with the neoclassical style which dominates nearby College Square. Scottish Widows Insurance was established by Lloyds Bank at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The building's setting, surrounded by commercial buildings, indicates the success of Dublin based financial services at the time.