GIANT PILE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 72, 26 March 1931, Page 4

GIANT PILE

-«.—, NEW BANK OP ENGLAND SECRET BEAUTIES PASS Lofty structures of the new Bank of England tower now over Threadncedle street and Bartholomew lane. At last Londoners can have some idea of what the monetary hub of the Empire is to - look like. Wo have- even lately been allowed: to sco tho niuch-dis.uss.orl basrelief of tho New Lady of Threadneedlo street, says a writer in tho "Daily Mail." : The vast work has been going on since 1924. Eor the first few years it appeared that little was being done, but behind the grim black walls men were very busy. Much had to be done below ground —deep excavations to take very solid foundations for tho thousands of tons of material afterwards to-be set in place. Indeed, compared with this early work, the running up of the reinforced concrete building itself is a comparatively rapid job. But those whose business takes them to the Bank —oven though they go over and through demolished areas—see nothing of what is going' on inside; they walk through a series of wooden tunnels; nor are there any gaps in the woodwork to accommodate the inquisitive eye! HIDDEN BEAUTIES. To tlio Londoner tho most fumiliar thing about the Bank of England hns boon tho grei.it outer defensive wall, u-indowless, that w;is built nffer the Gordon Riots for greater safety. There \v;is a scries of halls and open courts behind it which were, very beautiful; much of tho work was I hat of the Bank's most famous architect, Sir John Soano, who was appointed in 17SS. I know that tho directors of the Bank, naturally, felt great disinclination to pull down so historic a pile, but rebuilding was necessary because . of the great increase in staff in recent years; in July of 1911 tho . clerical staff was less than a thousand,, and included (50 women (indeed, women clerics have been employed at the Bank of England since 1894); after the war the Bank found itself with a staff more than three times as big as in 1914. As overyono 'knows, the famous outer wall is to b-e retained; ; .but.the new buildings of many stories .will rise inside, set back, for the .most part, a considerable distance from, the front. The directors had hoped to preserve certain rooms in their entirety, rebuilding them stone for stone. This has been impossible; but many troasures— fine Adam fireplaces, ornamental plasterwork, and statuary—will bo in the new rooms. There has been, genuine jxgret amongst all the people who visit or work in tho Bank that it has been impossible, too, to spare tho garden; for the garden of tho Bank of England has been one of the institutions of the City of London. In the spring it has been all colour, with masses of bulbs blopniing; in tho summer the shade of its tree and tho beauty of its flowers has made it an oasis. But the walls of the new high buildings . would have robbed the garden of its light ana its charm; and now there will only bo a central court, beautiful in its ovyn way. ONE OF BIGGEST.. , : Tho area of the site is 3|- acres, so tho new building will be one of the biggest- in London. ' In. tho balancesheet of the Bank the/ land and buildings are not: included amongst the. assets, but the land alono—basing on-the price paid for land for street-widen-ing.in the City—is worth about £18,----000,000. . It was necessary, as I have said, to lay very deep foundations, and.'this fact has given rise to exaggerated rumours about the depth of the vaults of the new Bank. Before, many of the strong rooms were on the ground floor; those now under construction aro below ground, in three floors. The bottom of tho lowest floor is 50 feet below street level. Thcso strong-rooms are places as nearly impregnable as man can make. Their sides are great masses of concrete and steel. The heavy steel doors, each aonie tons in weight, are full of intricate machinery; they look for all the world'liko the breech of a very big gun. Tho strong-rooms aro designed to resist not only the illicit craftsman bent on theft, but tho shells and bombs of any possible enemy also. The vaults will have to guard over £150,000,000 in solid gold. The Bullion Office moved into tho new building in 1928. Tho entrance is now from the most easterly gate' in Lothbury, and, when this gate is open, the broad inclined road leading down to the vaults can be seen. Up and down it the heavy bullion vans rumble every day, full of gold bought or sold; most of such transactions represent financial operations between international bankers. The public can go and buy gold there, but the minimum amount sold is a -00----ounee bar, costing about £1700, and so few people exercise their legal right. To certain of the strong-rooms access can only be had by the directors themselves, and one director alone cannot obtain admission. THE CYNIC. It is not expected that the new Bank will be finished before 1937, but some ide;(, of its splendour and beauty can bo got from the appoaranco of the Bartholomew Jane entrance, which is completed. There arc two magnificent bronze doors, IS foot high and 8 feet wide, each decorated with 16 lion heads. It is beautiful workmanship, and each door weighs two tons. They tell us at the Bank the story of how once, in the eighteenth century, a. cynic, viewing extonsions to the Bank that were then taking place, likened the expansion of tho premises to the great growth of the public debt negotiated there. Were the same cynic to return a few years hence, and look up at the splendid completed pile of the new Bank, he might well take a more melancholy view than ever!