Former Williams Deacons / Royal Bank of Scotland, Conway Road, Colwyn Bay.
Former Williams Deacons Bank, Conway Rd, Colwyn Bay
A leisurely stroll around the town centre of Colwyn Bay will reveal a rich heritage of building styles and a wide range of building materials.
Sidney Colwyn Foulkes made a very significant contribution to this heritage and these introductory observations also apply to the “Peacock” shop at the top of Station Road and the former Cash and Carry shop at No. 7, Abergele Road. All three may be different in terms of their design and detailing, but all display the seemingly limitless skill of their designer.
The stone used for these buildings looks very much like Portland stone and if this identification is correct then the following comments are applicable. Portland stone is quarried at the Isle of Portland near Weymouth at the eastern end of Chesil Beach on the south coast of England.
Portland stone is an oolitic limestone and has been used for many of the nation’s most important buildings. It is prized for its close grain and even texture. The stone looks well when used for dressings in a red brick building or as a complete facing material as on the three buildings discussed here. Portland stone lends itself to smooth sawn ashlar masonry, crisp arises and finely finished dressings.
The former Royal Bank of Scotland stands in a prominent location on the northerly side of Conway Road at its junction with Wynnstay Road. The building is Listed Grade II. Although the Listing details state that it was built in 1931 for Williams Deacons Bank to replace an earlier building on the site, there is evidence that the work was essentially a reconstruction of an existing dwelling carried out before 1925. The lettering “Williams Deacons Bank is discernible on the front elevation just below the top of the parapet. The former bank is a two storey building (with a basement) with a hipped roof behind a parapet with chimney stacks at each end and one in between, off centre.
The front and side elevations are of ashlar facings (ashlar is masonry cut to even faces and square edges with fine narrow joints). With regards to the masonry, note the plinth (projecting courses at the foot of a wall, chamfered or moulded at the top) with its moulded top, above which are two courses of masonry up to a projecting band which incorporates the ground floor window cills. Reference has been made of the properties of Portland stone for fine carving. The scrolled brackets under the ground floor window cills are excellent examples of the fine carving that can be achieved in Portland stone.
Each of the tall elongated ground floor sash windows (three panes over six panes) have projecting architraves with a moulded cornice at the top. The windows at first floor level are shallower, also three panes over six panes, but without the architraves, only a narrow projecting cill forming a feature.
Former Williams Deacons Bank, Conway Road
The main entrance is centrally located with, on the left hand side, three windows on both the ground and first floors. On the right hand side there are three windows on the first floor, only two windows on the ground floor as there is a secondary entrance at the eastern end with an architrave to match those on the ground floor windows, This doorway has a deep fanlight consisting of seven tall narrow panes above what appears to be a reeded rail.
The imposing main entrance is described in the Listing details as – “central entrance in Ionic portico in antis”. An antae can be defined as flat pilasters with capitals different from the order they accompany, placed at the ends of the short projecting walls of a portico or of a colonnade which is then in antis” (Acknowledgement is given to Edward Hubbard’s book: The Buildings of Wales – Clwyd (Denbighshire and Flintshire) – Architectural Glossary. Note the recessed panels in the pilasters.
The pair of solid doors are flanked by fluted tapering columns.
above the main entrance are flanked by blank panels, recessed in the centre. The glazing above the main entrance is tripartite sash glazing, the central part three panes over six panes, flanked on each side by one pane over two pane sash glazing. The windows above the main entrance are flanked by blank panels, recessed in the centre.
Window detail and former name details
At the eastern end of the wide front elevation stone walls running at right angles to the pavement mark the gated entrance steps to the basement.
The western side elevation facing Wynnstay Road follows the design and detailing found on the front elevation. There are four tall sash windows at ground level, with four windows at first floor level.
Wynnstay Road elevation former Williams Deacons Bank
At the eastern end of the wide front elevation stone walls running at right angles to the pavement mark the gated entrance steps to the basement.
The western side elevation facing Wynnstay Road follows the design and detailing found on the front elevation. There are four tall sash windows at ground level, with four windows at first floor level.
The eastern side elevation is basically plain. Towards the back of the building there is a sash window with stained glass in the upper sash. It appears that this window may be a later alteration for there is no architrave around the window opening to match the other windows. Unfortunately this elevation has been painted white. The careful removal of the paint to reveal the Portland stone would do much to enhance the building.
The rear elevation is of yellow brick with sash windows.
The boundary along Wynnstay Road and along the western part of Conway Road is marked by a privet hedge. Closer examination of the boundary reveals the original boundary treatment – as a boundary wall with a series of pillars. These pillars also survive at the eastern end. The pillars are aligned in a curved form opposite the main entrance. The easternmost pillar on Conway Road still has a hook, indicating that the original boundary treatment was chains between the pillars.
It is well worth pausing at this building to appreciate the design and detailing, the materials used and the craftsmanship given. Note, for example, some of the following:
- The slightly projecting string course which runs above the first floor windows.
- The deep moulded cornice at the top of the parapet.
- The emphasis given to the ground floor by the different treatments of the ground and first floor windows.
- The alternating deeper and shallower courses of ashlar masonry.
- The deep rails at the top of ground floor windows which appear to be reeded, now largely obscured by coats of paint.
- The crisp and sharp carvings arrises, mouldings and the like.
- The detailing above the main entrance doors and in particular the fine fluted tapering columns.
In general and in conclusion, refer to the Listing details which state that this building is !a sophisticated exercise in the academic Neo-Classic, often considered appropriate for bank buildings in the early 20th century”.
Acknowledgement is given to Alex Clifton-Taylor’s book “The pattern of English Buildings” with regard to Portland stone.
Acknowledgement: David Birch
Read more about Sidney Colwyn Foulkes and his work here.
