Big Top

This is the inside of the dome of the Rotunda, that is now home to Lloyds bank. I thought I'd show it in black and white as I think it highlights some of the details and its not far off the real colour, a greenish-grey with a red circle round the highest point.

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Banking On Black And White

I asked yesterday what you wanted to see today and the consensus of opinion was a bank in black and white. I always give you what you want, so here it is! I'm glad that was the choice, as these photos are the result of my first attempt at playing around with the manual settings on my camera. And I took them in black and white. I'm quite pleased with them.

This is Lloyds bank on the High Street.

It has some wonderful architectural details.

To read about the buildings history see my past post.

As I've mentioned several times this week I'm off on holiday next week and I'm handing Cheltenham DP over to you. If you'd like one of your photos to appear here then email me (address in my profile.) You'll get full credit and a link.
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Green Dome

Just a quick post today. I've posted several different photos showing glimpses of this building over the last few weeks but here is a complete view, with the lion and the domed rotunda, of Lloyd's Bank. This photo was taken from Montpellier Gardens and you can see the new railings I posted about last week. It really is a grand building and it certainly stands out from the other Regency buildings in Cheltenham. Come back tomorrow for my last post....for now....

King Of The Money

This old, slightly cracked, stone lion sits proudly above the entrance to Lloyd's Bank on Montpellier Walk. I'm not sure what his take is on the worldwide credit crunch, but I bet if he were in charge of the purse strings the financial situation would be a roaring success!

Rotunda

This striking dome is the focal point of the Montpellier shopping area. It sits at the top of the parade of shops, bars and cafes and is one of the first things visitors heading into town see.

Originally the building was one of Cheltenhams many Spas. Previously the building was wooden but was replaced in 1817 by a stone built Long Room. In 1825-6 the Rotunda was added by London architect John Papworth. As the spa waters went out of fashion the building was used as a concert and dance venue, the Long Room was used by a bank. Since 1926 Lloyds Bank have owned and used the Long Room, and they bought the Rotunda in 1962 for £14,000. When they took over the Rotunda it was in a very sorry state, a survey showed that the 160 feet diameter, 60 feet high dome had dropped 3 inches and was being held up by seriously rotten beams. In the renovation 2 tons of copper and two of lead were removed, also many tons of ornate plasterwork were taken down. The building now stands proudly, showing what Cheltenham is all about - fine architecture and interesting history.

Assembly At The Bank

On the South side of Cheltenhams High Street is the imposing Lloyds Bank building. Built in 1900, to the designs of Waller and Son, the bank sits on the former site of the Assembly Rooms which, in one form or another, had been there since 1734. Over the nearly 200 years that the Assembly Rooms sat on the High Street the building had three or four different incarnations, the most expensive being the 1815 design costing £60,000. The Assembly Rooms were used for meetings, balls and entertainment and after the building was demolished these kind of events moved to the Town Hall. Inside the bank is a large banking hall with a high double story celling built in a neo-Baroque style. The outside of the building is impressive, with columns, stone balustrades and urns, and a small tower. A friend of mine used to be a junior clerk at the bank and one of his jobs was to hang out the Lloyds bank flag from the tower every day. When he left, the flag would often be missing or tangled around the pole (much to his annoyance!), then one day it vanished completely and hasn't been seen since.