Bank House 27 King Street Leeds Historic Building Investigation and Recording

The overall aims of the project are to: " Investigate and record for posterity Bank House prior to the alteration of the building in the current refurbishment; " To particularly record the Pedway prior to its removal and other features which will be lost; " Document primary features which relate to the security and original use of the structure; " to enhance understanding of the structure and how it related to the wider area; " To better understand the building within the wider context of the development of Brutalist architecture in the 1960s; " To address the requirements of the relevant planning condition; Bank House, Leeds Issue No: 3 11 / �Oxford Archaeology Ltd 10 April 2026 " to make the record publicly accessible through a report (a public document) and a project archive deposited with a public institution. " Disseminate the results through the production of a site archive for deposition with the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) and to provide information for accession to the HER. Oxford Archaeology has undertaken historic building recording on Bank House in Leeds, as a condition of listed building consent for a major programme of refurbishment and structural alterations. Bank House was constructed between 1969-71 as a regional headquarters and bullion centre for the Bank of England. It was designed by the Building Design Partnership with a dramatic inverted ziggurat form where the upper floors step out and overhang the one below. It is architecturally similar to City Hall in Boston, USA, which was completed in 1968 and it seems likely that it inspired the design of Bank House. Bank House contributes to the variety of architecture within Leeds and it is now a Grade II listed building The building was constructed with a reinforced concrete frame, clad in polished Cornish granite and with a highly articulated form comprising repeated projecting modules. These modules incorporate standard single-light windows of tinted glass and simple bronze-coloured frames. The building's imposing form reflects the secure nature of the building but the exquisite detailing also follows in the long architectural tradition of the Bank of England. Along two of the three elevations there are surviving sections of raised pedestrian walkways, constructed of concrete and set at first floor level. These wide 'pedways' are fragments from an intended network of raised walkways which would have carried pedestrians through the city centre above the vehicular traffic below. The plan was never realised but the surviving fragments provide striking views of the surrounding buildings and they give a glimpse of the original vision of the city planners. The pedways are now to be removed in the forthcoming development. In c.2003 the upper four floors of the building were refurbished and converted to tenanted office space, with the ground floor and basement remaining with the Bank of England. The bank also vacated the building in 2023. Although the upper floors have been heavily refurbished the ground floor and basement remain close to their original form with a wide range of features that relate to the building's use. The reinforced vault itself survives, extending vertically between ground and first floor, with large steel secure doors at each floor level controlling entry. The control room also survives, overlooking the pedestrian entrance to one side and a secure vehicular entrance to the other side. This vehicular entrance leads to the bullion yard which incorporates a series of bays where vehicles could be loaded with bullion or money that had passed through a secure system of despatch.