Description

J and J Hall, 1924. 2-storey, 3-bay (4 at ground floor) classical former bank, now in office use. Polished buff sandstone ashlar to front elevation, cement render to rear. Channelled ashlar to ground floor, band course for signage at first floor level, eaves band course, cornice and blocking course. Projecting aprons and keystones.

FRONT (SE) ELEVATION: 3-bay principal block. Central ground floor window, double doors to left and right. Elevation continues to left with single-storey access to flats to SW. Pilastered first floor.

3-pane plate glass timber sash and case windows; 4-pane to rear. Slate roof, piended to front. Wallhead stacks.

INTERIOR: original layout intact but subdivided on ground floor. Some original decoration, including dentilled cornice and scrolled corbels. Glazed double inner doors.

Statement of Interest

The former Galashiels Savings Bank (see below) is, despite its small size, a notable example of the architecture associated with financial institutions in the early 20th century. Although the building is relatively unadorned, its use of simplified classical elements such as pilasters and projecting keystones are notably modern. The building, which makes a significant contribution to the streetscape at Bridge Place, is the work of J and J hall, the foremost and most prolific of Galashiels architectural practices, whose work defines much of the late 19th and early 20th century character of Galashiels town centre.

J and J Hall were responsible for the vast majority of the most notable public buildings of the late 19th century and early 20th century in Galashiels. The firm, which had premises at Ladhope Vale, close to this building, had its origins in the building firm of Robert Hall and company in the mid-19th century. John Hall Junior became an architect in the 1880s, when the firm became known as J and J Hall. Other notable buildings by the firm in Galashiels include the Technical College (1908), The Douglas Hotel and the Co-op buildings on High Street (1888).

It appears one door allowed access to the ground floor banking hall, while that to the left allowed direct access to the first floor offices.

The junction between this building and that to the SW, across which the 1924 elevation continues, is part of an older building at No 5. Earlier maps show an outside stair to the upper floor of No 5.

Although it appears this building was known as Galashiels Savings Bank when built in 1924, by then the Galashiels Trustee Savings Bank had merged with Ettrick Forest Savings Bank to become Selkirkshire Savings Bank.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77779531

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

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014