Description

PLYMOUTH

SX4754 DERRY'S CROSS, Plymouth
740-1/57/363 The Bank Public House
01/05/75
(Formerly Listed as:
DERRY'S CROSS, Plymouth
Old Lloyds Bank Building (Offices of
City Engineers & Entertainments
Dept))

GV II

Bank, now a public house. 1889 (Pevsner) for Lloyds Bank,
conservatory extension 1986. Freestone ashlar with channelled
and moulded rustication; roof behind moulded parapets; 3
lateral panelled stacks with moulded cornices, the stack
behind the entrance porch with moulded buttresses.
STYLE: richly detailed Italianate.
PLAN: L-shaped plan with quadrant-plan entrance bay within the
angle and the principal wing with bowed front and a
quadrant-plan link on its left to an elevation which tapers
back.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys plus attic storey over cellar; front ends
of wings with linking entrance bay make an overall
asymmetrical corner front of 1:3:1:2 bays. Plinth and coved
round arches to ground floor; mid-floor entablature; fluted
Corinthian columns dividing principal 1st-floor bays
surmounted by an entablature with moulded and dentilled
cornice; corner pilasters with carved coats of arms to top
panels. 1st-floor window openings of wings have Ionic columns,
open pediments and carved aprons. Attic storey has moulded
window architraves with keyed segmental arches. Principal
3-bay wing is bowed to ground and 1st floors and set back
above is a moulded triangular pediment with central cartouche.
The bowed entrance bay has distyle-in-antis arrangement to
each floor: open Tuscan porch with wrought-iron railings to
ground floor with moulded doorway with carved blind overlight
and pair of panelled doors set back; attached Corinthian
columns above with rusticated jambs to window opening with
heavy moulded and keyed hood with scrolled pediment and
swagged apron plus floral hangings to sides. 2nd doorway to
right of right-hand wing with recessed 6-panel door.
Bowed bay to left of 3-window wing has 1st-floor window
opening with rusticated jambs, keyed moulded head surmounted
by shaped pediment and drapes to apron. Left-hand return
elevation is rusticated and has mid-floor string and moulded
cornice. Most window openings with horned sashes.
INTERIOR: is very richly detailed. Vestibule has panelled dome
with florets and central acanthus rose. The main room has
coffered ceiling with moulded cornices with egg-and-dart and
bead and reel enrichment to panels and dentils to perimeter
cornice, the rib/beam soffits are panelled and carved; fielded
mahogany dado panelling and large panels set into walls above.
Other room has moulded ceiling cornice with enrichments and an
original chimneypiece.
This fine building and the excellent Derry's Clock Tower (qv)
are the only buildings in their immediate vicinity to survive
the Blitz and the post-war redevelopment. The setting of this
building in its post-war environment seems to enhance its own
richness and quality.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Devon: London: 1989-:
667).

Listing NGR: SX4760554385

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26423138

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability