District Bank Chester

Built as the Chester branch of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Co. Ltd, in traditional half-timber style. Internally the main banking hall was modelled on Cheshire mansions with the walls having oak panelling above and red sandstone below. The upper floors of the building were designed to be let as offices.

NEW BUILDING IN CHESTER - In erecting the new bank building at the corner of Frodsham-street and Foregate, the District Bank has adhered to the traditional half-timber manner of construction for which the ancient city of Chester is so famous. The arguments against this mode of construction in modern building are many and logical, but here can be no doubt that in such a city the continuance of the style is fully justified. The interior, while providing all the necessary modern requirement s for the business of the bank, is in the same character as the outside. The main room is modelled on the lines of an old mansion-hall of which Cheshire has many striking examples. The lower portion is panelled in oak, and the upper parts of the wall are red sandstone. A gallery reaching to a small mezzanine floor, and a stone fireplace on which is carved the bank's coat-of-arms add interest to the room. The counter and fittings will also be of oak, and have been designed to harmonise with the woodwork of the period as far as their purpose will allow. The manager's room will be panelled in oak. Strong-rooms, book rooms, and all modern banking requirements are, of course, provided, and the staff will have every comfort and convenience for carrying on their work. Provision for the future has also been secured by the purchase of additional land to allow extensions to be made if and when required. The rooms over the bank will be let as offices. The half-timber style of construction is to be seen in several of the bank's branches in Cheshire, the example at Stockport being the most noteworthy.

It is not without interest to glance at some of the facts relating to the foundation of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company Limited, and its steady growth in nearly a hundred years to the position of one of the strongest institutions in the country. The company, then was formed at a meeting held in Manchester on April 15th, 1829, and was duly constituted by deed of settlement dated June 1, 1830. It was registered in 1880 as a limited company. The premises first occupied by the bank at its opening were at the corner of Norfolk-street and Brown-street, and it is interesting to relate that in the same year a business was acquired at Stockport, where the bank opened a branch from headquarters on December 1, 1829. Thenceforward progress was steady, new branches being continually opened. Thus: Oldham, February 17 1830, Liverpool, March 23, 1830; Hanley, October 20, 1830; Nantwich, December 13, 1830. That must have been a year of splendid record for the bank. From time to time other branches were opened, London coming into purview on January 1, 1885 and Chester in 1908. The total number of branches is now upwards of 330.

A glance at the advertisement above shows the financial standing of the company, and indicated the huge volume of its transactions. Coincident with the extension of its operations through the media of branch premises, the bank consolidated and strengthened its position by taking over from time to time other concerns. The first of these was in 1829,as mentioned, when the business of Messrs. Christy, Lloyd and Co., Stockport was taken over; followed in subsequent years by other absorptions namely: Loyd Entwistle, Bury and Jervis, King-street, Manchester, 1862, Messrs Brocklehurst & Co Macclesfield, 1891; the Lancaster Banking Company Limited, 190; and the Bank of Whitehaven Limited, 1916. These, of course, necessitated financial readjustments, but that the transactions were of benefit to the company and all its shareholders is not a matter of doubt. The business has grown and is still growing; its influence and power spreading over a greatly widening area. The head office of the company, in Spring Gardens, Manchester, is a handsome and commodious structure. It is really the adaptation of a very old building which was renovated a recently as 1903. The original building was utilised four years after the bank's opening (1833) and the extensions and reconstructions have been so skilfully planned and carried out as to have achieved a building of almost perfect harmony, well suited to the modern business requirements. It is handsomely equipped with a spacious entrance-hall, numerous well-appointed waiting rooms for the public use, and fine rooms for the directors, managers, inspectors, etc. There are also commodious strong-rooms, modern in structure and unique in equipment. [The Manchester City News, Saturday, April 2, 1921.  Page 8]

The article was illustrated by a photograph of a model of the building by Messrs Earp, Hobbs and Miller, from designs of the Architect, Mr Francis Jones of Manchester. This caption is to sole reference to the architect.

Reference           Manchester City News 2 April 1921 Page 8