15-22, Cornhill Ec3 London, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

627/10/5 LOMBARD STREET (North Side)

Nos.71-77 (Consecutive)

10.11.77

GV II* Includes Nos.15-22 CORNHILL EC3 Lloyd's Bank Headquarters. 1927-30 by Sir John Burnet, Tait & Lorne; Campbell-Jones, Sons & Smithers, executive architects. Portland stone, granite coursing to ground floors. Metal windows. Westmoreland slates to roof. PLAN: tapering rectangular plan, narrower at west end, with an inner light-well. Main stairs to centre, west end, with a lesser light-well behind; secondary staircases to north and south of east end of light-well. The Cornhill front is 146 ft long; the Lombard Street one, 198 ft.. EXTERIOR: six storeys and two attic levels; deep basement. North elevation to Cornhill, formerly with the main entrance: eight-bay arcaded ground floor, the endmost bays straight-headed, that to the west entering Pope's Head Alley. Main entrance three bays in from west, with flanking lanterns and a cartouche above at third floor level. Grey granite facing to the lower courses. Large arched windows over rectangular ones, the latter with an entablature at mezzanine level of bronze, carried on slender Corinthian columns. Plat band at first floor level, with rectangular window openings above, arranged 1 - 14 - 1. This rhythm is repeated for the upper three floors, with a giant order of Corinthian half-columns to the centre, flanked by single projecting side bays. Entablature at sixth floor height, with lion masks to the cornice. Projecting side bays with single openings, flanking the tall attic: this is inscribed, in sunken Roman lettering, LLOYDS BANK LIMITED, between wreaths; empty inscription panel over centre. Upper attic level. South elevation to Lombard Street: similar, but not identical, to the Cornhill front. Eleven bays at ground floor level. Arcaded ground floor with recessed doors within stone surrounds, set beneath coffered arches. Large arched windows over rectangular ones, the latter with an entablature at mezzanine level of bronze, carried on slender Corinthian columns. The entrance is marked out by flanking lanterns, and a cartouche at second floor level. Grey granite facing to the lower courses. The openings one from the west and one from the right are straight-headed: that on the west marks the (slightly re-aligned) line of Pope's Head Alley, and that to the east, Change Alley. At first floor level, between plat band and entablature, is a procession of 18 sunken rectangular windows, arranged 1 - 16 - 1. This rhythm is repeated for upper three floors, which are fronted with a giant order of Ionic pilasters. Entablature at sixth floor height, with lion masks to the cornice. Recessed attic storeys. INTERIORS: the building retains an exceptional sequence of intact interiors, reflecting its status as the headquarters of a leading bank. Features include the following. A large marble-lined banking hall (now reception), ringed with giant Ionic columns carrying an entablature, with a glazed ceiling above. The original counters have gone, but the ornate bronze side doors to north and south, by the Birmingham Guild, remain in situ, with the Lloyd's Bank shield flanked by horse supporters, over palms and fillets. The fronts of the mezzanine floor are faced in stone, and embellished with carved depictions of historic coinage. The side walls at the east end are embellished with archaic style reliefs of husbandry and agriculture. At the west end is a Neo-Grec war memorial (altered in 1949 to accommodate WW2 references), flanked by bronze lanterns, consisting of three name panels surmounted by a scallop with a statuette of Peace; in front is a ledge for tributes. In front, set into the floor, is a low relief bronze roundel depicting the Lloyd's black horse in mosaic, by Gilbert Bayes. Behind the memorial is an imperial stair, rising up to the fifth floor, with bronze balustrades and marble-clad dado. Original bronze-lined lifts remain in situ, with Moderne embellishment. A number of the upper floo