Two banks, one legacy: balancing adaptation with conservation

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Two banks, one legacy: balancing adaptation with conservation

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This year marks 100 years since the demolition of Sir John Soane’s Bank of England building, often described as one of London’s greatest architectural losses. A new exhibition, Building the Bank – 100 Years On, which opened on 16 September 2025, explores its vanished grandeur, and Sir Herbert Baker’s imposing replacement.

Soane’s original, undertaken between 1788 and 1833, was regarded as a neoclassical masterpiece and is considered his most famous work. Enclosed by a vast stone screen wall, the building concealed domed banking halls lit by inventive skylights that gave the interiors an ethereal quality. These spaces represented the height of neoclassical ingenuity, admired across Europe for their drama, subtlety and clarity.

A clarion call for conservationists

Yet within less than a century, the bank was transformed. Between 1925 and 1927, architect Sir Herbert Baker oversaw a major rebuilding which swept away almost all of Soane’s interiors. Only fragments of the perimeter wall and a handful of elements remain. 

The demolition provoked outrage among architects, historians and conservationists. The loss of the bank strengthened the conservation movement and was cited during campaigns for the preservation of Covent Garden Market and St Pancras Station. At the time, it also revealed the absence of protection for even the most significant buildings, and the need for policy frameworks that balanced commercial requirements with conservation.

The rise of the listed building

The demolition of Soane’s bank marked a turning point for the conservation movement. Outrage over its loss built momentum for stronger protections, culminating in the Ancient Monuments Acts of the early 20th century and, later, the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947, which introduced listing for buildings of special architectural or historic interest. These frameworks marked a fundamental shift: conservation of heritage assets became a matter of national legislation and policy rather than private preference.

Ironically, the building’s demolition contributed to the protections that ensured the survival of its replacement, with Baker’s work also deserving recognition. A prominent imperial architect, he brought with him a distinguished portfolio including government and civic buildings in South Africa and New Delhi, designed with Sir Edwin Lutyens. At the Bank of England, Baker designed a more monumental classical presence on Threadneedle Street, reflecting the authority and permanence of the institution in a rapidly changing interwar world. The new bank was designated a Grade I listed building on 4 January 1950, including the surviving elements of Soane’s work.

Balancing adaptation with conservation

As a result of the national legislation and policy shaped in the 20th century, proposed changes to heritage assets must be carefully weighed against their historic and architectural interest. Balancing adaptation with conservation demands specialist advice, ensuring heritage values are respected even as buildings evolve for new uses.

This approach was recently demonstrated at Soane’s best-known surviving work, the Grade II*-listed Dulwich Picture Gallery. Savills Heritage and Townscape, working with Savills Planning, advised on proposals that delivered the new ArtPlay Pavilion - a new space for children - and the extension and conversion of the Grade II-listed Gallery Cottage, recently completed following approval in 2023.

Further information

Contact George Duffield

 

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