Location: Market Street
The former National Westminster Bank on the corner of Market Street and Bankside Lane is one of Bacup’s most distinctive town-centre buildings, and it still reads like a statement of Victorian confidence even with the signage long gone. It sits in a really prominent spot within the conservation area, where banks, chapels and civic buildings were deliberately designed to look solid, serious and permanent.
What makes this one especially memorable (and perfect for the mosaic trail) is the banking hall roof: inside, the ceiling incorporates what a condition survey describes as a “magnificent leaded light dome”, preserved by a glazed lantern at roof level.
From the outside, you can still see the same Victorian “best bib and tucker” – gables, bays and carefully worked stonework — which is why it holds its own against everything around it, even on a street with no shortage of big old buildings.
The former National Westminster Bank is also remembered for features that are no longer fully visible today. Historic photographs show a tower-like element rising above the roofline, giving the corner a strong vertical emphasis and marking it out in the townscape. Although this feature has since disappeared, it is widely believed that nearby Tower Street, running alongside what is now Temple Court, took its name from this landmark.
The Old Bank
This mosaic reflects the former National Westminster Bank as a place of confidence and ceremony, where light, stone and height were used to express trust and permanence at the heart of Bacup’s commercial life.
Up Before The Bench
Chris Elliott
I first check out me belts and braces
So I’m not inconvenienced in any chases
I checks me whistle I checks me watch
I checks me truncheon I check the lot
Now I’m as smart as any bobby that you’ll ever see
If her majesty popped by she could rely on me
So I’m ready for me beat and ready for all of thee
I’ll be up before the bench in the morning.
With me notebook at and me pencil
I shall carefully take down
Details of the outrage that occurred at the crown
And when I get the name of home
That knocked the landlord down
He’ll be up before the bench in the morning
Whilst passing by the angel
It was drawn to my attention
That drinking after hours was taking place
As I entered the public house
It fell as quiet as a mouse
They’ll be up before the bench in the morning
At the rear of Fossets Mill
Wi’ a coffin in the back
Stood old Stansfields hearse
Had there been an accident
Had thee been a death
I opended up the coffin lid
And took a deep breath
It were full rolls cloth
There were no room left
He’ll be up before the bench in the morning
In the course of my duties
It was necessary to call, in at the Blacksmiths Arms
A complaint has been received
It were precise and it were clear
That the landlord of the Blacksmiths had watered down the beer
But after testing out the evidence….all became clear
No need for the bench in the morning
I spied Alderman Trickett crossing the road
Swaying from side to side
As it had just struck two
Id a little hunch
That Alderman Trickett
Had had a heavy lunch
Six pints of Grimshaws and a large rum punch
He’ll be up before his own bench….in the morning
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Up Before The Bench
