Location of Midland Bank, 27-35 Poultry in City of London
The Midland Bank, 27-35 Poultry stands on Poultry in the City of London. It was built between 1924 and 1929 as the headquarters offices of the Midland Bank. The architect was Edwin Lutyens. A Grade I listed building, its Historic England record describes it as one of Lutyens' "finest urban buildings". It is now a hotel, The Ned, named in Lutyens' honour.
History and description
The Birmingham and Midland Bank was founded by Charles Geach in Birmingham in 1836. In under a century, through a long series of amalgamations, and the establishment of a successful overseas business, it had become the largest bank in the world. Renamed the Midland Bank in 1923, in 1924 it commissioned a new headquarters building on Poultry in the City of London.[1] The architect was Edwin Lutyens. The first building was completed by 1929, but Lutyens returned to undertake a major expansion between 1935 and 1937.[2] Following the Midland's financial decline in the late 20th century, it was absorbed into HSBC in 1992[1] and the Poultry headquarters was vacated and subsequently sold.[2] The building was repurposed, and opened as a hotel, named "The Ned" in Lutyens' honour, in 2017.[3] The building's restoration, a partnership between Soho House and the Sydell Hotels Group, has drawn praise from both architectural critics and travel writers.[4][5][6]
Lutyens' connection to the Midland Bank came through Reginald McKenna, a senior politician who became the bank's chairman in 1919. McKenna was married to a niece of Gertrude Jekyll, Lutyens' long-time collaborator, and Lutyens had been commissioned to design the McKenna's London townhouse, Mulberry House, in Smith Square in 1912.[a][8] On McKenna's accession to the chairmanship of the Midland, he engaged Lutyens to design the bank's new headquarters.[b][9]
^Mulberry House, 36 Smith Square, was subsequently bought by Henry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett who, in conjunction with his wife, Gwen, commissioned an elaborate interior re-decoration by the architect Darcy Braddell. The result has been described as "one of the most important Art Deco interiors in London."[7][8]
^Lutyens designed much of the furniture and fittings for the new bank. A set of chairs for the directors' boardroom was placed for sale at Phillips in 2019.[9]
