Description

627/10/279 TOKENHOUSE YARD EC2
11-FEB-03 12

GV II*
Merchant Bank. Dated 1872, by E.A.Gruning for Huth's Bank. Red brick, terracotta and stone dressings, slate mansard roof, the basement to first floors in gauged brick. Twelve bays, three storeys, with attic storey and basements. Stone plinth and ground floor cill band. Gauged brick first floor storey band with moulded soffit. Gauged brick cornice with stone coping, Stone segmental pedimented doorcase, cartouche dated 1872, pilasters enriched with foliate garlands supporting lion-head mask brackets, acanthus cyma moulded architrave, pair of part- glazed moulded panelled doors. Paired hardwood sashes to all ground floor windows except that to left which is blind, each under flat, rubbed brick arch. Secondary entrance has pair of moulded panelled doors in rectangular plain cyma moulded architrave with garlanded cartouche, beneath large overlight, set back. Passage to right of main entrance in rectangular moulded stone architrave beneath large overlight, with iron grille; cartouche, set over both overlight and architrave. Basement windows with roll moulded architraves under segmental rubbed brick arches, with pronounced keystones and with cast iron grilles with twisted, spear head shafts. First floor, tall painted timber casements with stone moulded feet, rubbed brick moulded cornices, timber blind boxes; above the windows, terracotta frieze of garlands and rondels linked to upswept gablets, each with rondel, over each window; window to far left, blind, but with similar mouldings. Second floor set back behind cornice, each bay articulated by plain brick shaft rising above continuous cornice band, terminating in triangular pediment-like stone coping. Casement windows, framed by narrow horizontal brick bands. Segmental headed casement dormers, a tall brick stack with pronounced stone coping, to every third bay. Rear elevation: red brick with flush red brick window and doorway arches. Stair bay detail flush with facade, accentuating verticality; simple ground floor round arched window; above, first and second floor triple round headed windows with flush stone dressings, formerly leaded stained glass panels, now in storage. Large cast iron framed window with moulded reveals and central shaft. Segmental headed basement openings with cast iron grilles with twisted, spear head shafts.
Interior. Hall lined with Ionic pilasters supporting triglyph frieze with deep modillion cornice, three bay Ionic screen to left, asymmetrical Ionic screen flanking stair to rear hall. Fine Honduras mahogany open well stair, in late C17 manner, rising from basement to attic; open string with moulded tread ends, twisted balusters two per tread, those to basement plain and heavier; fluted newels, ramped moulded rail; corresponding mahogany dado to stairwell and landings. Round headed window at ground floor, Triple, tall, round headed windows to half landings at first and second floor, each between Ionic shaft and rising with the stair. Shallow domed lantern with eight- light top light, above moulded pendentives; suspended bronze candelabra. Pedimented doorcases, with eared architraves, at first floor each with enriched entablature. Mahogany doors of six raised and fielded panels, most retaining brass door furniture. Senior Partners' Room, principal first floor chamber, similarly treated as stairwell, with opposing pairs of pedimented doorcases, marble chimneypiece, ornate plasterwork ceiling. Adjoining ante- room in similar manner. Akroyd Room, on a domestic scale, with coved acanthus frieze, timber chimneypiece with eared architrave, marble slips, floral tile flanks, cast iron grate. Second floor restored suite of dining rooms replicate the frieze from the Akroyd room. Rear Board Room, restored, with guilloche plaster frieze. Modillion cornice survives beneath suspended ceiling of inserted mezzanine floor. Basement banking vaults behind heavy metal- lined door retaining facetted brass knob and handle.
Stained glass from stair windows removed during World War II and stored in the building.

S.Bradley & N.Pevsner The Buildings of England: London I: The City of London, 1997, p. 608
D.Kynaston, The City of London, Vol.I, 1994

Listing NGR: TQ3275581358

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17549182

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.

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