The National Westminster Bank at 1 Prince's Street is a Grade II listed office block that stands on Prince's Street overlooking Bank Junction in the City of London.
History The building was built between 1929 and 1932 for the National Provincial Bank, whose later 1970 merger with the National Westminster Bank gives it its commonly used modern name. Built around the same time as the new Bank of England across Bank Junction, the new building usefully provided office space nearby, but the bank's headquarters remained in Bishopsgate.
Between 1994 and 1997, T. P. Bennett carried out redevelopment of the building, retaining its historic facade as well as the banking hall. In 2025, Zedwell announced plans to transform the building into a budget hotel.
Design The designs were provided by Sir Edwin Cooper, an eminent architect in the City of London in the early 20th-century. According to Philip-Ward Jackson he would become known as "the man who had designed more buildings in the City of London than any architect since Sir Christopher Wren". Having completed the 1922 Port of London Authority headquarters and 1928 Lloyd's Building, the National Westminster Bank building was relatively restrained in comparison.
The building occupies a triangular plot, contained by Lutyen's Midland Bank Building with the face overlooking Bank Junction slightly convex. This side's parapet hosts an allegorical group by Ernest Gillick. Depicted in the centre is Britannia, flanked by Mercury representing commerce, Truth, Higher Mathematics and Lower Mathematics. The other sides have niche sculptures of Courage, Integrity, Security and Prosperity by Charles Doman.
See also
Midland Bank, Poultry Westminster Bank Building Gibson Hall, London
References