The Midland is a pub housed in a historic former bank building in Wrexham city centre, Wales. Located at the eastern end of Wrexham's High Street, it opened in 1912 as the Midland Bank, which purchased the original client The North and South Wales Bank a few years prior to construction. The building is a Grade II listed building.
| The Midland | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The building on Wrexham's High Street, as The North & South Wales Bank | |
 | |
| Former names | Midland Bank Lloyds (No. 1 Bar) The North & South Wales Bank |
| General information | |
| Type | Pub Former bank |
| Architectural style | Baroque palazzo |
| Location | 14 High Street, Rhosddu, Wrexham, Wales LL13 8HP |
| Coordinates | 53°02′43″N 2°59′31″W / 53.045232°N 2.991865°W |
| Construction started | 1910 |
| Construction stopped | 1912 |
| Client | The North and South Wales Bank (1905–1908) Midland Bank (1908–1999) Wetherspoons (2001–2023) |
| Owner | Ansloos Leisure Ltd (2023–) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Floor area | 8,696 square feet (807.9 m2)[1] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Woolfall and Eccles |
| Website | |
| midlandwrexham | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Midland Bank |
| Designated | 31 January 1994 |
| Reference no. | 1842[2] |
The building housed a Wetherspoons pub initially known as Lloyds, and later The North and South Wales Bank from 2001 to 2023. It re-opened as a pub in late 2023, as The Midland, recognising the building's original name and purpose.
History
editThe North and South Wales Bank first established its presence in the town in 1836, with its Wrexham office opening on 19 September 1836,[3] on the site of where 43 High Street now stands, in the house of Mr Griffith in the Market Place. The office later moved in 1861 to the ground floor of 29 High Street (now opposite the present-day building), then owned by the Alliance Assurance Company.[4][5]
The Lion House hotel, on the site the current building is now situated on, to the eastern end of the High Street,[2] was bought in 1905 for The North and South Wales Bank of Liverpool from S.R. Johnson.[6] Although before the building was completed The North and South Wales Bank was purchased by the Midland Bank (now part of HSBC) in 1908. With the building opening as the "Midland Bank" instead of "The North and South Wales Bank" which was dropped.[4][5]
Construction of the building took place between 1910 and 1912, by Woolfall and Eccles, the architects for the Midland Bank.[4] Woolfall and Eccles originally envisioned the building to be in the Gothic style, to match nearby St Giles' Church, but the designs were rejected by the London City and Midland Bank when they took over the construction as they preferred a renaissance façade which was associated with their branches.[7]
The building has a yellow sandstone façade with ashlar, polished lower storey granite columns, a slate roof, and the building was in a "baroque palazzo" style.[4][8][9] It has two storeys and a five window range.[2]
Pub
editWetherspoons (2001–2023)
editThe building operated as a bank until 1999. In 2001, it opened as a Wetherspoons pub, the second pub in the town. The pub was originally named "Lloyds", but was later renamed to "The North & South Wales Bank" in recognition of its former use.[4] On 29 July 2021, Wetherspoons announced the pub was one of the few pubs put up for sale and the only one in Wales.[10][11] On 26 November 2021, plaster from the building's ceiling collapsed following Storm Arwen. Two people claimed to police that they were injured. Wetherspoons later claimed the two individuals were "pretending", citing CCTV footage showing no one was harmed and the two claimants later left the premises before paramedics arrived.[12][13] It stopped operating as a pub on 15 January 2023, and was followed by the completed sale of the building on 18 January 2023.[14]
The Midland (2023–)
editOn 3 August 2023, it was announced the building was purchased by Sam Ansloos and Marcus Ansloos, who operate local clubs in the area. The pub underwent renovation,[15] with a "sports bar" design, and re-opened on 2 December 2023 as The Midland. This name references the original name and purpose of the building as the Midland Bank.[16][17][18]
A safe deposit box is still present on the exterior of the building.[5] The building is Grade II listed building.[2][8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The North & South Bank Wales, 14 High Street, Wrexham, LL13 8HP | Property for sale | Savills". search.savills.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d Cadw (31 January 1994). "Full Report for Listed Buildings - Midland Bank (Grade II) (1842)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "The North and South Wales Bank 1836-1908, the 150th anniversary of Midland Bank's forerunners in Wales" (PDF). gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "High Street (North Side) - The North & South Wales Bank". buildingsofwrexham.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ a b c "The North and South Wales Bank Wrexham - J D Wetherspoon". www.jdwetherspoon.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Edwards, Annette (August 2019). "Lion House, High Street, Wrexham". Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Booker, John Michael Lloyd (1984). The Architecture of Banking: A Study of the Design of British Banks from the 18th Century to Modern Times - Volume One (PDF). University of York, Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies. pp. 195, 215.
- ^ a b Wrexham Town Centre - Conservation Area Character Assessment and Management Plan (PDF). Wrexham County Borough Council. 2020. pp. 12, 41.
- ^ "North and South Wales Bank; Midland Bank, 14-15 High Street, Wrexham (27355)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ Nuttall, Andrew (29 July 2021). "Town centre Wetherspoon branch in Wrexham put on the market". The Leader. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ Forgrave, Andrew (30 July 2021). "Wetherspoon puts historic North Wales pub up for sale". North Wales Live. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ Gregory, Andy (28 November 2021). "Wetherspoons accuses customers of faking being hit by debris in pub ceiling collapse". The Independent. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Wetherspoons claim some customers faked injuries after ceiling collapsed in Storm Arwen". ITV News. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Wrexham High Street Wetherspoon pub serves its final pint". The Leader. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Former Wrexham Wetherspoons set to reopen under new ownership". The Leader. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "Here's when Wrexham's former Wetherspoons will re-open as 'The Midland'". The Leader. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "'Just what Wrexham needs' - Readers views as The Midland is officially opened". The Leader. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "LOOK: Before and after pics of Wrexham's new bar The Midland". The Leader. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.