English, Scottish, and Australian Bank, 225-219 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
English, Scottish, and Australian Bank, 225-219 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 109288
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2023:__________________________________________________DATE: 1927-8;ASSOCIATIONS: English, Scottish, and Australian Banking Company;DESIGNER: Hare, Henry & Hare;BUILDER: Clements LangfordStyle: Neo-GrecPeriod: Inter-WarNotable features 1985: Stone & bronze joinery___________________________VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H0390https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/819What is significant?The Former ES&A Bank at 219-225 Swanston Street was built for the English, Scottish and Australian (ES&A) Bank in 1928 by Clement Langford to a design by Henry Hare. The three storey structure with mezzanine is faced with freestone and contains a large central space, originally the banking chamber. The dominant feature is the ionic pilasters on the Swanston Street and Little Bourke Street facades. The building may have been designed in two parts: a ground and first floor capped by a very strong cornice, and an additional floor added later on, featuring common revival stylistic features, such as the diagonal mullioned windows.How is it significant?The Former ES&A Bank at 219-225 Swanston Street is of architectural significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The Former ES&A Bank at 219-225 Swanston Street is of architectural significance as a notable example of the popular 1920s Greek neo-Classical revival. The Greek Revival style was favoured by the ES&A Bank and a number of its branches were built in this style in the 1920s. This appears to be the most intact and best example of the style in its relatively unabstracted form. The style emphasises solidity in its classical references, a characteristic no doubt valued by a bank._______________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 76, p9- refers to Tonkin report; and RAIA 20th Century Register_______________________________________VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTERRay Tonkin report to Historic Buildings Preservation CouncilADDRESS: 219 -225 Swanston StreetCONSTRUCTION DATE: 1927ALTERATIONS/ADDITIONS:ARCHITECTS: Hare & HareBUILDER: Clements LangfordPROPRIETOR: E.S. & A. BankRECOMMENDATIONS: Ray Tonkin submitting recommendation for registration regarding this building.See also:HistoryHistory of the ES&A BankThe English, Scottish and Australian Bank Limited was founded in 1852 by Royal Charter in London, and was known as the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank. In 1893 the bank was renamed the English, Scottish and Australian Bank (ES&A). In 1921 the bank took over the Commercial Bank of Tasmania Limited and the London Bank of Australia Limited, and in 1927 the Royal Bank of Australia Limited. In 1970 the bank merged with the Australia and New Zealand Bank to form the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ Bank)..History of the Site and BuildingThe London Bank of Australia occupied the corner portion of this site in 1910, shown as 223-225 Swanston Street on the Mahlstedt Map of this date. In 1922 the London Bank of Australia merged with the ES&A Bank and in 1927 drawings were prepared by Henry Hare & Hare for the design of a new ES&A Bank on this, and the adjoining allotment to the south, at 219-225 Swanston Street. The new building was constructed by Clement Langford and was completed by July 1929 when it was illustrated in an advertisement in the RVIA Journal.A sketch of the front elevation of the building by Henry Hare & Hare in 1927 indicates a proposed addition of five storeys to the building and correspondence seeking approval for the building that year stated that:Provision should be made for our steadily growing requirements - a good up-to-date banking chamber well and naturally lighted with two storeys above built in concrete, the front elevation faced in granite and the foundation capable of carrying another three storeys if and when extension becomes necessary in the future.These proposed floors were not added to the building after the initial construction.In 1970 the ES&A Bank became the ANZ Bank and this branch was sold to the NSW Building Society c1976. It later housed a branch of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and was converted for retail use in the early 2000s..Interwar Bank DesignA number of banks were constructed in Victoria in the 1920s in a classically derived style, imparting an appropriate character of solidity and grandeur to these commercial buildings. A distinctive appearance was derived from a giant superimposed system of pilasters or half columns across the facade and Greek derived motifs were commonly employed, as evident at the Former ES&A Bank..The ArchitectsHenry Hare and Hare were the architects of the Former ES&A Bank. Henry Hare was an engineer for Johns and Waygood before entering into partnership with C H Ballantyne in 1919, following the death of Ballantyne's partner, Percy Oakden, in 1917. This partnership appears to have continued until 1925 and the partnership of Henry Hare and Hare was then formed. Few buildings are recorded as being designed by this firm of architects, however their work includes the ES&A Bank, Swanston Street; Rycroft Hall, South Yarra (by 1929); a distillery, Corio (by 1929) and Dominion House, 57 Flinders Lane (by 1931). The latter is an example of a very simple stripped classical building with alternating pilaster strips (originally of red brick but now painted) and vertical rows of multi-paned windows..KEY REFERENCESRohan Storey. 'Report for Victorian Heritage Register, Former English Scottish & Australian Bank, Swanston Street Branch', 2015B Trethowan, 'A Study of Banks in Victoria. 1851-1939', 1976ANZ Bank Archives, correspondence, sketch of facade and photographsRoyal Victorian Institute of Architects Journal, July 1929Mahlstedt Map, 1910 & 1925 [STATE LIBRARY OF VICTORIA ].Physical Description 201516/12/2015The Former ES&A Bank, Swanston Street is a reinforced concrete corner building with basement, double height central space with mezzanine, two levels of office space and rooftop residence. The main facades to Swanston and Little Bourke Streets are clad with freestone up to the main cornice and the top floor is finished in cement render. The base of the building is of grey granite. The main Swanston Street facade contains a flight of stairs that lead to the elevated main floor of a large double height space, originally the banking chamber. This space has an elaborate coffered ceiling and square supporting Ionic columns and wall pilasters. A mezzanine floor, which is located to the side and rear of the double height space, may have been part of the original design but, if so, it has been substantially altered with later access stairs constructed within the central space.There are two levels of office space above and a former caretaker's flat on the roof which is set back from the top parapets. A staircase at the north-west corner of the building provides access to the upper levels of the building and a staircase at the south east corner provides access to the basement and the first floor. Both staircases have elaborate wrought iron balustrades and the north west staircase has a tiled dado up to the first floor. The entrance lobby to the rear staircase has been modified.The building is designed in a giant austere classical style, with a pair of giant engaged, fluted Ionic columns flanking the Swanston Street entrance, four giant Ionic pilasters lining the north facade and rusticated piers defining the corners of the building. These support an entablature and dentilled cornice on the two main facades. Between the columns and piers are bronzed metal multi-pane windows and panelled spandrels. Above the main entablature is a high attic storey with cross-paned windows, Greek key frieze to the Little Bourke Street facade (frieze detail has been removed from the Swanston Street facade), moulded shield motifs and a slightly pointed pediment at the top of the Swanston Street facade parapet. In Swanston Street the main entrance doors and surround are clad in copper and a secondary door is bronzed. The night safe and patterned glass window panes remain at street level in Little Bourke Street.Physical Conditions16/12/2015The place is generally in good condition externally and internally. This includes external facade materials and detailing, including stonework, render, windows and metal doors, and internal materials and detailing, including plasterwork, wrought iron stair balustrading and dado tiling. [June 2015]The exterior fabric of the Former ES&A Bank retains a high level of intactness. The place was used as a banking chamber for about seventy years until c2000 and the heritage values are still evident in the external and internal fabric. The place can be readily identified as a bank. Minor alterations have been made to the exterior of the building, including changes to signage (original signage read 'The English Scottish and Australian Bank Ltd' below the cornice on both facades), removal of a Greek key frieze to the top of the Swanston Street facade and changes to the entry lobby at the rear of the building in Little Bourke Street.The rooftop flat has been retained and is in use as a residence. No major structural alterations appear to have been made to this or the upper office floors.The main banking chamber has been used for retail purposes for a number of years however the original use is discernible through the retention of the double height banking chamber. Banking counters have been removed and a mezzanine level, part of which may be original, has been altered. The mezzanine balustrade has been replaced and a flight of stairs inserted from the main central space.[June 2015]OBJECTS AND INTERIORSThe following interior elements have been retained: banking chamber ceiling, supporting square columns, wall pilasters and decorative panels, front and rear staircases and stair balustrading and tiled dado of the rear staircase. Other features include the entrance and secondary doors, night safe and patterned glass window panes.These interior elements are important details that contribute to the significance of the place..ComparisonsThe Swanston Street facade of the Former ES&A Bank is already included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) and therefore comparison in relation to the exterior of the building is not necessary. However comparison can be made with the interior of other former banking chambers included in the VHR.Former National Bank of Australasia Headquarters, Collins Street (VHR H2064)The Former National Bank of Australasia Headquarters, 271 Collins Street, Melbourne (VHR H2064), was constructed in 1924-25 to designs by architects A & K Henderson, just prior to construction of the Former ES&A Bank, Swanston Street. The Former National Bank, Collins Street contains a highly intact and impressive banking chamber with elaborate coffered ceiling, supported on giant order square columns, a large central skylight and mezzanine gallery. A number of alterations have been made to the banking chamber, including the addition of a grand divided marble staircase in the 1930s (since removed) and later work to convert the space into a retail facility. The former banking chamber remains an impressive space which is illustrative of its former use.Nineteenth Century Banking ChambersNineteenth century banks which retain impressive and intact banking chambers and are included in the VHR include:ANZ Bank, 2 Malop Street, Geelong (VHR H0191, 1859-60) ANZ Bank, 376-390 Collins Street (VHR H0034, 1883-87) Former Colonial Bank, Bendigo (VHR H1020, 1887) Commercial Bank of Australia, 327-343 Collins Street (VHR H0035, 1891-93).These form an illustrative group of intact banking chambers from the nineteenth century.Comparison to Nominated PlaceThe banking chambers at the Former National Bank of Australasia Headquarters, Collins Street and the Former ES&A Bank, Swanston Street are intact examples from the 1920s. The Former National Bank banking chamber is a large and impressive space, which was contained within a large banking headquarters building in Collins Street. The Former ES&A Bank banking chamber remains largely intact as a smaller, but impressive, example of a city branch banking chamber. Both are illustrative of their former use._______________________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1868We observe that the English, Scottish, and Australian Chartered Banking Company have opened a branch of their establishment in Hotham. This will be a great convenience to the people of that locality..1928The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)Wednesday 18 April 1928 - Page 13https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243990834 illustNew Banking Premises in Swanston StreetNew banking premises for The English, Scottish and Australian Bank Ltd., are in course of erection at the corner of Swanston street and Post Office Place, to the design of Messrs. Henry Hare & Hare, architects, of McEwan House, Melbourne, and should be a notable addition to the buildings at the north end of the city. The building has a frontage of 41ft. 6in. to Swanston street, and a depth of 65ft 9in. along Post Office Place, and consists of basement, ground floor and mezzanine floor, to be devoted to banking business, with two upper floors for letting purposes. The caretaker's quarters are situated on the flat roof.The entrance to the banking chamber is In a central position, over a lobby finished in marble, from Swanston street, and the entrance to the upper floors is over an entrance lobby situated In Post Office Place. There is also a subsidiary entrance and escape to the upper floors from the Swanston street frontage. The building Is of fire-resisting construction throughout, being of steel frame with reinforced concrete floors and walls, and is designed to carry five additional storys. The elevations to both street frontages are of true' classic design In the Ionic order, carried out in Pyrmont sandstone, with a base of fine-axed Harcourt granite, the en trance doors and surrounds, and all windows and \ transoms being constructed In bronze, s Strongrooms and safe deposits are situated in the basement .and also at the rear of the banking chamber, and a mezzanine floor provides accommodation for the bank's clerical staff.The Interior of the banking chamber is designed in. Ionic style, with columns, walls and balustrades finished in travertine,- and with fittings of Queens land cedar. The entrance lobby, Including staircases to the letting space above, is to be finished in panelled Australian marble with marble floor, the stair balustrades being constructed in bronze. Highly finished and well-lit offices and conveniences on each floor are provided for tenants. An electric dual controlled passenger elevator with metal enclosures, is situated in the public entrance lobby for use of tenants..1930https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94142250BANK MANAGER SENTENCEDMELBOURNE; Sunday.Donald Cantwell (38), formerly manager, of Swanston-street branch, of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank, was sentenced to six months-imprisonment on each of two charges of larceny.
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Research and reports
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1264242
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 109288 | 1 PDF : 1,408 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |