In Pevsner’s Guide to the
Buildings of the West Riding of Yorkshire there is an entry for the town of
Goole, including Goole buildings, such Aire Street, but since ‘much more
interesting buildings have not been put up at Goole since, except for the
church’. A small number of other buildings are referenced including Goole Hall,
The Lowther Hotel, the Water Towers and the only commercial building in Goole –
the bank chambers, by H B Thorp.
Mr Henry Bell Thorp was a
prominent architect in Goole and the surrounding area, designing in the region
of 50 buildings in the area over a period of 30 years. An architect in the
mould of the late Victorians Mr Thorp specialised in the Gothic revival and
Renaissance styles of architecture, and characteristics of his buildings
include the use of red brick and terra cotta detailing.
In a prelude to writing about the
full works of Henry Bell Thorp below is a small article, copied from the Goole
Times, about a building considered one of the finest office suites in Yorkshire
at the time of its erection:
“One of the most notable features in connection with the growth of
Goole has been the numerous handsome structures that have been erected in the
town during the last year or two. But undoubtedly the most important from an
architectural point of view is the splendid block now in course of construction
– and, by the way, rapidly approaching completion – at the corner of Church and
Stanhope Streets. These premises, which
are commonly known as the “New Bank Building,” are being erected for Messrs
Beckett & Co., the well-known Leeds bankers, and are destined to take the
place of the unpretentious offices in Boothferry-road, Goole, in which they
have carried on their business since they opened a branch in this town. The
architect of the new building is Mr H. B. Thorp, of Goole, who may be
congratulated on the elegance of the structure he has designed. It forms one of
the finest suites of offices in Yorkshire, in addition to the fat it will be
finest building of which Goole can boast. It fronts Stanhope-street and
Church-street, its length in the former street being 105 feet, and in the
latter 106 feet. This building is freely treated in the renaissance style, to
be adapted to the purpose for which it is required and is faced with Ruabon
Bricks aand red terra cotta dressings throughout from Mr J. C. Edwards Ruabon.
The façade has a most imposing appearance. At the angle at the meeting of the
two streets I the bank entrance, with a semi-circular arch, carried on fluted
pilasters, with panelled soffit. This angle is further enriched by oriel
windows, and a terra cotta turret.
The bank premises are at the corner of the
two streets, and consist of a handsome banking room, the walls and ceilings of
which will be finished in fibrous plaster mouldings and panels; the floors will
be of red tiles, and the desk, screens, &c, of polished Honduras mahogany,
to the designs furnished by the architect. There is in the rear a strong room,
lined with glazed bricks, with Price’s strong room door and grill, and the
walls are of great thickness, while the floor is of concrete. Accommodation is
provided in each street for two large blocks of offices. The ground floor in
Stanhope-street has already been rented by the Bennett Steamship Company,
Limited, and Mr T.L. Williams. The Bennett Steamship Company’s suite consists
of a clerks’ room, 44 feet long by 10 feet wide; two manager’s and a
book-keeper’s offices, 20 feet 6 inches by 15 feet; and a private office, 15
feet by 15 feet. The whole of the first in Stanhope-street is taken up by Mr W.
Meek and the Yorkshire Coal and Steamship Company. It comprises a clerks’
office, 44 feet by 19 feet; book-keeper’s room 25 feet by 15 feet; a captain’s
waiting room, 19 feet by 16 feet; and a strong room – the whole forming a
capital set of offices. On the ground floor in Church-street offices are rented
by Messrs England & Son, solicitors, Goole; they consist of five rooms 16
feet square and a strong room. There is a further set of offices on the first
floor and similar offices to those below on the second floor in both Church and
Stanhope Streets. The private entrance to the bank manager’s house is in Church
Street, and his apartments comprise commodious sitting rooms, kitchen, &c.
on the first floor, and on the second floor there are six bed rooms, bath
rooms, &c. All the different sets of offices have private lavatories,
&c, which are lined with glazed bricks, and fitted up with the latest
sanitary improvements. It is proposed to light the building with gas at
present, but wires are being laid throughout the whole of the rooms, will this
idea of using electricity should it be adopted by the town. The contractors for
the work are Messrs W. Nicolson and Son, of Leeds, who are to be congratulated
on the excellency of their workmanship, and the following are sub-contractors –
Salting, Mr Season, Leeds; plumbing, Mr J. Lindley; Leeds; painting, Mr Barron,
Goole; plastering, Mr Mountain, Leeds; terra cotta work, Mr J Edwards, Ruabon;
lighting conductors, Messrs Berry and on, Huddersfield.” (Goole Times
30/10/1891)
Since the building was the
constructed it has been added to and adapted over its life, including the
addition of the Aire and Calder Navigation Offices in the early 20th
century and in the late 20th century the suites of offices were
converted in the home of the Boothferry Borough Council. The turret was taken
down in the 1950s but the Bank Chambers remains one of Goole’s finest
buildings, and represents a time in Goole’s history when buildings were
constructed as a reflection of the town’s growing aspiration and rapid growth
in commercial trade.
