The Barclays Bank building is a four-storey locally listed building overlooking the historic crossroads in the town centre of

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

in the south

London Borough of Sutton The London Borough of Sutton () is an Outer London London boroughs, borough in south London, England. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It borders the London Borough of Croydon to the east, ...

. It was built in 1894, originally as the London and Provincial Bank. Sutton Council document
/ref>The Locally Listed Buildings of Sutton
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Location

The building is at the junction of Cheam Road and Sutton High Street, the crossroads of the historic turnpike roads which passed through the town. It is on the south-west corner of the crossroads. It is in the Sutton Town Centre High Street Crossroads Conservation Area, which was designated on 9 May 2011. From March 2017 it has also been in the town centre's Heritage Action Zone.

Architecture

The building is four storeys in height, of ornate design and in the

French renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...

style. It forms a prominent landmark when arriving in the town centre. There is a series of arches at ground level within rusticated stonework. The main entrance is on the corner where the two roads meet, rounded in shape and surrounded by an ornate

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

and segmental

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

, which together serve to create a sense of importance for the bank. The second storey has fluted columns and simple cross windows. The windows, columns and

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

on the third storey are surrounded by decorative carvings. The attic is on the fourth storey and set within a decorative, balustraded

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

under which there is a decorative

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Historic bank buildings Victorian architecture in England Bank buildings in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Sutton Sutton, London