Saint Colman's House

A curious and well-detailed late nineteenth or early twentieth-century bank building, having an eclectic mix of styles, motifs and influences. This interesting structure retains its early form and much of its early fabric. Casey and Rowan (1993) have described this structure as ‘early twentieth-century cosmopolitan classicism’. The unusual mix of styles suggests that the bank front (and perhaps the shallow canted projections over) was added c.1925 to an existing late nineteenth-century double gable-fronted building. This elaborate bank front is classically detailed with Ionic columns and an emphatic cornice over. It references ‘Banker’s Georgian’ motifs, while the scalloped detail and the shallow canted projections hints at some Art Deco references. This bank front appears to have been constructed using either polished limestone or perhaps even faience (glazed terracotta), an unusual building material in Ireland and perhaps unique to this building in Westmeath. The margin-paned bronzed window frames and glazing bars are another interesting feature and an increasingly rare survival. The form of the ground floor suggests that it originally conformed to the usual late nineteenth-century formula of doorcases to either side with bank floor lit by central windows. The eclectic quasi-Jacobean or Queen Anne Revival gables add interest to the skyline and are another rare architectural motif in Ireland and certainly in Westmeath. Interestingly, these gables are quite similar to those found on the Ulster Bank (15310065), a short distance to the east on the opposite side of Oliver Plunkett Street, perhaps indicating the work of the same architectural firm. The detailing to the shield above the centre of the bank front, with Leinster and Munster provincial crests, suggests that this building was originally constructed as a branch of the Leinster and Munster Bank. This interesting building forms part of an unusually good and quite varied collection of early bank buildings in Mullingar and is a strong addition to the streetscape.