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CBC Bank (former)

Type:	Built	(Click to enlarge)
Group:	Finance
Category:	Bank
Town/City:	Maitland
Local Govt Area:	Maitland City
Street Address:	315 High Street Maitland
Postcode:	2320
Description:
The front façade is finely carved from Pyrmont sandstone. The ground floor has four symmetrically placed semi-circular windows, each punctuated by a keystone carved in the likeness of a woman. The windows above are topped with a projecting pediment, each supported by a pair of free-standing Corinthian columns. The interior features finely etched glass panels, black and white marble floor and carved cedar joinery, with the lofty ceilings of the three-storey building being 6.2, 4.5 and 4 metres high. Above the bank, extensive quarters were originally provided for the manager, his family and domestic staff. Two massive sandstone urns which once sat on top of the building were dislodged by the Newcastle earthquake in 1989 and now sit in the grounds of the property.
History:
Designed by George Allen Mansfield, the official Commercial Banking Company architect, and completed in 1888, this building is an exceptional example of Victorian Classical architecture, with the style based on that of the Italian Renaissance period. An article from the Maitland Mercury, 27 September 1888, when the new building had just been completed, enthused: “The work of the contractor…was carried out by Mr James Pritchard, in a conspicuously energetic and intelligent manner, and to the entire satisfaction of the architects…Mr Pritchard has done both Maitland and himself credit by his performance of the contract. The joiner’s work is especially fine, and could be surpassed nowhere for finish and general excellence.” “The front of the building is of the best Pyrmont stone from Sydney…in the design a classical treatment has been adopted, which has an exceedingly imposing appearance, the main features standing out in bold relief. The stonework is a marked feature of the building, and is considered a superior piece of masonry. The front is divided in its height with handsome moulded stone cornices and brackets at the first and second floors, and finished with a main cornice and balustrade, and parapet with moulded base, balusters and coping.” The building was also acclaimed by the Maitland Mercury earlier in 1888: ‘This bank when finished will, without doubt, be one of the finest buildings of the kind, not only in any of the country towns, but also in the colony, or indeed the colonies. It already presents a handsome and striking appearance as it approaches external completion. The front of the building is of Pyrmont stone, and in its construction a thousand tons have been used.’ Renovations to the building were carried out in 1979, the first major restoration since opening. New roofing and plumbing were installed and the facade cleaned. The banking chambers, which occupied the ground floor, were redecorated in the style of the period. This work coincided with Maitland’s sesquicentenary, the bank planning to mount a display of historical material relating to Maitland from its archives. (Maitland Mercury, 15 August 1979) Further renovations occurred from 1999 when John and Barbara Murphy purchased the property, which they now operate as a restaurant and catering business. (Maitland Mercury, 9 August 1999) The CBC was the first bank in Maitland and the bank’s first country agency. It was established in 1835, just one year after the CBC opened for business in Sydney.
Significance:
Listed on Maitland LEP 1993: ‘Historic: Represents Maitland's former role as the premier city in the Hunter Valley and one of the main cities in the colony up to the middle of the Victorian period. Aesthetic: Exceptional example of Victorian Classical commercial building, high architectural standard and important townscape element.’ (NSW State Heritage Database Item 2000116)

Related Records

Themes:
Commerce
Publications, Reports, Theses:
Bergsteiner, McInnes and Rigby, Central Maitland: A Study of Its Historic Buildings and Townscape, Report for Maitland City Council 1977 Charlton, Ken D,, The architecture of High Street, Maitland: a history of the architecture and architects of High Street, Maitland, Newcastle, Newcastle College, University of NSW 1961 Howells, Trevor and Bishop, Sandy, Hunter Valley Sketchbook, Adelaide, Rigby 1980 Maitland 1863-1963, Sydney, Oswald Ziegler Publications for Maitland City Council 1963 ‘Maitland Centenary’, The Hebrew Standard, 21 February 1935 Maitland Heritage Survey Review: Inventories Central Maitland, Volume 1, Report for Maitland Council, Brian McDonald and Associates, and Wendy Thorp, Sydney 1994 Maitland: Hub of the Hunter - Historical Homes and Buildings, 4th Edition, Maitland Lions Club 1983 McNamee, Holly and Campbell, Wayne, Heritage walk: eastern end of High Street Maitland, Friends of Grossmann House. 2009 Mitchell, Cecily Joan, Hunter’s River: A History of Early Families and the Homes they Built in the Lower Hunter Valley between 1830 and 1860,, Estate of Cecily Joan Mitchell, Newcastle. 1984 (1973) NSW State Heritage Database, Heritage Branch, NSW Department of Planning Rutherford, R.L., The Glory of the Hunter: A Story Published to Mark the Centenary of West Maitland, West Maitland 1935 Turner, John, The Rise of High Street, Maitland: A Pictorial History, Council of the City of Maitland, Maitland Bicentennial Community Committee and the Maitland Mercury 1988

© Views of Maitland

Views of Maitland Record No.: S89
Created: 17/08/2010
By: Judy Nicholson
Modified
By