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Listing: 1876 with later alterations. By T. H. Fleeming. High
Victorian Gothic Style.
Pevsner: ... large and varied Gothic .. by Thomas Henry
Fleeming, c.1876 and later.
Plaque: commemorates Fleeming and gives the date 1876. Refers to
the style as Gothick.
Comment: This buildings was built in two parts but the join is not
noticeable. What seems to have been the original entrance can be seen on the
left of the photo above, under the oriel window where the ATM now is.
Architecturally it is all of a piece, though Victorian Gothic seems a much
better label than Gothick.
The building dominates this corner of Queen Square and occupies a site
cleared as part of the Lichfield Street improvement. The previous buildings on
the site included a large timber framed house, which came further forward than
the Bank; that corner was the usual target for artists, including Turner.
The present building does cut off St. Peter's from Queen Square; there is a
story that, when it was first built, a society was established with the sole
purpose of getting the top floor removed, to make the church more visible.
In fact the top floor was, for a long time (and after the demolition of their
previous home, the Deanery) rented to the Conservative Club.
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