39 Welsh Row is a Victorian former savings bank, in Jacobean Revival style, in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It stands on the south side of Welsh Row at the junction with St Anne's Lane (at SJ6482352398 ). Dating from 1846, it is listed at grade II. [1] Nikolaus Pevsner describes number 39 as "the first noteworthy building" on Welsh Row, which he considers "the best street of Nantwich". [2] The street has many listed buildings and is known for its mixture of architectural styles, [3] including timber-framed black-and-white cottages such as the Wilbraham's and Widows' Almshouses, Georgian town houses such as Townwell House and number 83, and Victorian buildings such as the former Grammar School, Primitive Methodist Chapel and Tollemache Almshouses.
39 Welsh Row is one of three banks in the town dating from the Victorian era which are listed buildings; the others are the former District Bank, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and Barclays Bank, designed by Thomas Bower, both of which are on Churchyard Side. Number 39 is currently used as offices.
The Savings Bank was built in 1846, and cost an estimated £970. [4] [5] Two earlier independent banks had been established in the town, but had proved short-lived, failing in 1816 and 1826. [6] By 20 November 1848, the Savings Bank had 1079 deposits, of which 1064 were private, nine were from charitable societies and six from friendly societies. Savings banks were intended to assist the poor to save money for periods of hardship, and most deposits at that date were relatively modest, with nearly half no more than £20 (around £1,500 today), and only seven above £200 (£15,600 today). [4] [7] In 1850, it opened only twice monthly, on the first and third Monday of the month. It was then one of two banks in the town, the other being a branch of the Manchester and Liverpool District Bank on the High Street. [4] By 1874, the bank was open weekly, on Mondays between 11 and 1. [8]
The Savings Bank was still at Welsh Row in 1914; however, by 1930 it had amalgamated with the Chester & Wrexham District Savings Bank and moved to 29 High Street. [9] [10] In the early 20th century the building was in a dilapidated condition. [11] By 1971, 39 Welsh Row was used as offices for Pearl Assurance. [2]
The former bank is a detached single-storey building in Jacobean Revival style, set back from the street behind railings. [1] [12] In red brick under a slate roof, it has decorative blue-brick diapering and stone dressings on the Welsh Row (front) face. The central bay of the front face projects slightly and has a prominent shaped gable, finished with a stone coping and three triangular finials; the gable contains a circular stone moulding, formerly a clock face, and a stone plaque inscribed "Savings Bank erected A.D. MDCCCXLVI". [1] [2] The central bay has a canted bay window surmounted by a stone balustrade with foliage decoration and cross-shaped openings. The flanking bays each have a single window, and all three windows to the front face have stone mullions and transoms and hexagonal-latticed lights. [1]
The main entrance is in a gabled porch attached to the St Anne's Lane (left) face; the doorway, reached by a short flight of stone steps, is undecorated and has a stone top. The sides of the Welsh Row face and the edges of the central bay have decorative stone quoins. The gable ends and the porch gable have stone corbels and coping, and are finished with triangular finials matching those on the central shaped gable. [1]
As of 2010, the building is used as the offices of a recruitment agency. [13]
Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It contains 132 listed buildings and structures, with three classified as grade I, seven as grade II* and 122 as grade II. In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. There are three grades: grade I denotes buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest, grade II* denotes particularly significant buildings of more than local interest, and grade II includes buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading. This list includes the listed buildings and structures within the boundaries of the civil parish of Nantwich.
Crewe Hall is a Jacobean mansion located near Crewe Green, east of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. Described by Nikolaus Pevsner as one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire, it is listed at grade I. Built in 1615–36 for Sir Randolph Crewe, it was one of the county's largest houses in the 17th century, and was said to have "brought London into Cheshire".
9 Mill Street is a Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The present building dates from around 1736 and is a grade II* listed building. Nikolaus Pevsner calls it a "fine, spacious" house, and the English Heritage listing describes it as a "substantial and well-detailed early, C18 Town House, which ... retains much original interior fabric." Formerly a town house, bank and political club, it is currently a restaurant and bar.
Dysart Buildings is a terrace of nine Georgian houses on Monks Lane in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Dating from 1778–79, the building is listed at grade II*. It is located at 1–9 Monks Lane, now a pedestrian walkway, opposite the former Congregational Chapel and immediately north east of St Mary's Church. Nikolaus Pevsner describes the building as "surprisingly metropolitan".
83 Welsh Row is a Georgian town house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, dating from the late 18th century, located on the south side of Welsh Row. It is currently used as offices. It is listed at grade II*; in the listing, English Heritage describes it as "a good tall late C18 house", featuring a "good doorway".
Townwell House is an Early Georgian town house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located at number 52 on the north side of Welsh Row. It dates from 1740, and is listed at grade II*; in the listing, English Heritage describes the building as "important" and highlights its "good central entrance".
46 High Street is a timber-framed, black-and-white Elizabethan merchant's house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located near the town square at the corner of High Street and Castle Street. The present building dates from shortly after the fire of 1583, and is believed to have been built for Thomas Churche, a linen merchant from one of the prominent families of the town. It remained in the Churche family until the late 19th century.
1–3 Churchyard Side is a grade-II-listed Victorian Gothic building in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the corner of Churchyard Side and Pepper Street, opposite St Mary's Church. Built in 1864–66 to a design by Alfred Waterhouse as the Nantwich branch of the Manchester and Liverpool District Bank, it is among the most notable examples of Victorian corporate architecture in the town. The building remained a branch of the District Bank until the late 20th century, and is still in use as a bank.
Nantwich Grammar School, later known as Nantwich and Acton Grammar School, is a former grammar school for girls and boys in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It now forms part of the mixed comprehensive school, Malbank School and Sixth Form College.
Crewe Almshouses or Crewe's Almshouses is a terrace of seven former almshouses at the end of Beam Street in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The present building was erected in 1767 by John Crewe, later first Baron Crewe, and is listed at grade II. It has a central projecting section topped by a pediment, with a stone doorway flanked with Tuscan columns. The present almshouses stand on the site of a 16th-century building, originally the mansion of the Mainwaring family and later the town's House of Correction and workhouse.
Wright's Almshouses is a terrace of six former almshouses now located on Beam Street in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The building was originally erected at the junction of Hospital Street and London Road in 1638 by Edmund Wright, Lord Mayor of London in 1640–41, and is listed at grade II*. The low red-brick terrace has stone dressings and a central stone panel with arms. The adjacent stone archway of 1667, which Nikolaus Pevsner describes as the "best" feature of the almshouses, is also listed separately at grade II*, together with its associated wall.
The Primitive Methodist Chapel is a former Primitive Methodist church on Welsh Row in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Built in 1840, it is listed at grade II. The chapel closed in 2001, and the building has been partially converted to residential use.
140–142 Hospital Street, sometimes known as Hospital House, is a substantial townhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the south side of Hospital Street. The building is listed at grade II. It was built in the late 16th century by John Crewe, a tanner, whose sons Randolph and Thomas both served as the Speaker of the House of Commons. The original timber-framed, close-studded façade has been concealed by alterations during the late 17th century; these include the addition of small-paned casement windows, some of which contain old heraldic stained glass. The building was further altered and extended in the 18th century, with the addition of two Gothic-style entrances. Later occupants include the architect, Thomas Bower, and the building remains in residential use.
11 Churchyard Side is a Victorian bank in Gothic Revival style, in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It stands on the town square, opposite the parish church. Dating from 1876, the bank was designed by local architect Thomas Bower as a branch of the Midland Bank, and later became a branch of Barclays. It is listed at grade II.
The Tollemache Almshouses, also known as the Wilbraham Almshouses or Wilbraham's Almshouses, are six former almshouses in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. They are in two blocks of three cottages each, located on the north side of Welsh Row at numbers 118–128. The present buildings, which are listed at grade II, were erected in 1870 by John Tollemache to replace adjacent almshouses founded by Sir Roger Wilbraham in 1613. The almshouses were modernised in 1980 and remain in residential use. The Hospital of St Lawrence, a medieval house for lepers, was possibly on or near the site of the present almshouses.
The Wilbraham's Almshouses, also known as the Wilbraham Almshouses, are six former almshouses in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, located on the north side of Welsh Row at numbers 112–116. Founded by Sir Roger Wilbraham in 1613, they were the town's earliest almshouses. They remained in use as almshouses until 1870, when they were replaced by the adjacent Tollemache Almshouses. The timber-framed building, which is listed at grade II, was subsequently used as a malthouse and as cottages, and was later considerably altered to form a single house. The Hospital of St Lawrence, a medieval house for lepers, might have been situated nearby.
The Porch House, formerly sometimes the Porche House, is a large Georgian house, dating from the late 18th century, in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. It is listed at grade II. Located at numbers 64A and 64B on the north side of Welsh Row, it is entered via its former stable entrance, The Gateway. Currently divided into two houses, the Porch House has previously served as a day and boarding school, and as a house for Belgian refugees. The existing building stands on the site of a 15th-century mansion of the same name.
The Widows' Almshouses, also known as the Wilbraham or Wilbraham's Almshouses and as the Widows' Hospital, are former almshouses for six widows in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. They are located at numbers 26–30 on the north side of Welsh Row, on the junction with Second Wood Street. The almshouses were founded by Roger Wilbraham in 1676–7 in memory of his deceased wife in three existing cottages built in 1637; they were the earliest almshouses in the town for women. In 1705, Wilbraham also founded the Old Maids' Almshouse for two old maids in a separate building on Welsh Row. They remained in use as almshouses until the 1930s. The timber-framed Widows' Almshouses building, which is listed at grade II, has subsequently been used as a café, public house, night club, restaurant, wine bar and hotel.
The Gateway, or 60–62 Welsh Row, is a Late Georgian former stable entrance in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, dating from the early 19th century. It is located on the north side of Welsh Row, on the junction with Red Lion Lane. It is listed at grade II. Nikolaus Pevsner describes The Gateway as "handsome".
Combermere House, or 148 Hospital Street, is a Georgian town house in Nantwich, Cheshire, England, which dates from the mid-18th century. It is on the south side of Hospital Street, near the end of the street and opposite the junction with Millstone Lane. The building has previously been known by other street numbers, including number 154. It is listed at grade II, and local historian Jane Stevenson describes it as "sheer perfection".
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