Former 20th century bank at legal offices at 6 The Broadway, Wickford (EHER 80090)

Demolished in 2019. A two-storey brick-built building with a tiled gable roof and full-height square bay window. Originally constructed in 1910 as a bank and later reused as legal offices, the building retained some original fixtures and fittings. It had access on both floors to 8 The Broadway and ground floor access to 4 The Broadway.

March 2019. Level 1 building recording. 6 The Broadway was built in 1910 as the premises of the bank Barclay and Co. Ltd., and replaced the south-western half of a pre-existing cottage pair on the site (the other half exists at 8 The Broadway). It is a two-storey building constructed in red brick, with a clay-tiled roof which is gabled to the NE and SW. The principal elevation has a projecting full-height square bay window with a gabled roof. Render obscures the date of 1910 which is visible in a historic photograph, and the ground floor window displays the company name. To the SW of the bay window is the main entrance, housed in an integral brick-built porch with round-arched doorway. The building retains timber casement windows, a half-glazed door to the main entrance, and a pair of brick-built chimneys. Internally, the large front room retains several historic fixtures and fittings, including plain skirting, a simple moulded picture rail, a 1930s tiled fireplace surround and timber fitted cupboards. The original room to the rear was also heated and its fireplace surround remains in situ albeit modified. Many of the rooms have been divided by modern stud/glazed partitions. The stairs to the first floor are a simple straight flight and form a pair with those at No. 8 to the NE; they (or, at least, the stair arrangement) appear to have been retained from the original semi-detached cottage. Most recently, Nos. 2-8 The Broadway served as inter-connected offices of Brian Ruff, Angus & Jewers, solicitors, and first floor access to the cottage at 8 The Broadway is preserved by a short flight of stairs at the NE end of the landing. On the ground floor, an internal corridor leads SW to No. 4 and NE to No. 8. <1> The Bank 6 The Broadway was built in 1910 as the premises of the bank Barclay and Co. Ltd., although trade directories list a bank in the town from 1902, suggesting it moved here from old premises. The directories record it as a sub-branch. In 1912, the bank was open on Mondays and Fridays between 1.15 and 3.45pm, where it had previously opened only for an hour and a half on Mondays to cater for Wickford cattle market. The new premises and the extended opening hours may reflect the demands of a growing population, which in 1911 was recorded as 1,028. In 1931, the population of Wickford was recorded as 2,979, and by 1933 the bank opened on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. By 1978, Barclays Bank had constructed a new Wickford branch premises on Market Road and this most likely resulted in the closure of the building on The Broadway, which latterly became known as The Old Bank Buildings. There is anecdotal evidence that, during the Second World War, the bank building was rented out to the H.M. Secretary of State for War. The headquarters of the 1st Battalion of the Essex Local Defence Volunteers (later known as the Home Guard) were stationed at the building, of which the Wickford Company (later, ‘E’ company) was a part. The Wickford patrol was the first LDV patrol to operate and filmed for a newsreel and were photographed by the press at the time. <1> <2> <3> August 2019. Demolition. The building was demolished in August 2019 in advance of the construction of a new Aldi supermarket on the adjacent land. <4>