Description

Mid to later 19th century and circa 1900. 2-storey, 3-bay gabled former bank and bank house with later tall single storey and attic, 2-bay, L-plan shop and post office on corner site dominating centre of Bellabeg village immediately opposite Village Hall. Striking diamond-aligned stacks, finialled gables, dormer gablets, castellated porch, beak skewputts and decorative rainwater goods to bank house; decorative skewputts to shop. Whitewashed harl with contrasting granite base course, quoin strips, margins (stop-chamfered at door), mullions and cills.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION:

S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: bank house at left with advanced full-height gable to left bay, porch and gabletted windowheads breaking eaves to centre and right bays. Lower shop at right with broad advanced gable at left.

E (GLEN NOCHTY ROAD) ELEVATION: gabled elevation with 2 large fixed display windows, outer angles canted back and surmounted by scrolled skewputts and blind oculus (with later louvre) in gablehead.

INTERIOR: some moulded cornices, panelled shutters and screen door with etched glass panel to former bank.

4-pane and plate glass glazing patterns in timber sash and case windows. Grey slates with traditional rooflights. Grouped, coped ashlar diamond aligned stacks and ashlar-coped skews with decorative skewputts. Cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers.

ANCILLARY BUILDINGS: single storey, L-plan, ancillary building to NE with boarded timber doors, 2 altered garage openings, grey slates and traditional rooflights

Statement of Interest

The early bank house is a substantial, well detailed Victorian villa, uncommon in design for this area. The shop appears on the 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map. Situated at the centre of Bellabeg Village, the former Clydesdale Bank, Bank House and Shop have been at the hub of both village and glen life for generations. It is distinguished by its prominent corner siting, castellated porch and distinctive decorative stacks. Although the bank itself closed last year, the adjacent shop and post office, the last in Strathdon, remains open (2006). Groome, writing at the latter end of the 19th century, mentions a branch of the Town and County Bank.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77779292

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

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