See inside Warrington’s Historic Parr Bank which is up for auction

VIDEO: warrington-worldwide has been given an exclusive look inside Warrington’s “hidden treasure” the historic Parr Bank, which was built in 1788 and is up for auction in June.

More recently a Nat West Bank, the Grade II Listed Building closed its doors to business more than two years ago and is now on the market as three possible lots – the impressive main banking hall, the upstairs and a stable block at the rear.

The property is being marketed by Warrington based Read Properties.

Kevin Read from Read Properties gave warrington-worldwide an exclusive look inside the building prior to it coming up for auction.

Kevin described the building as : ” A hidden treasure of Warrington and something the town should be proud of.”

In 1905 it was described as “one of the great amalgamating banks in the country” and “a power in the financial world.”

The Bank’s history dates back to the late 18th century, with a possible starting date of 1782. The first partnership was with Joseph Parr, a sugar boiler, his brother-in-law Matthew Lyon, and Walter Kerfoot, a solicitor. Partnership names changed and the firm was variously known as Parr & Co, and Parr, Lyon and locally as The Warrington Bank.

Parr’s remained essentially a local bank with offices in Warrington, Runcorn and St Helens until 1865 when the it became a joint stock bank under the name Parr’s Banking Company. Helped by a series of acquisitions, including the National Bank of Liverpool, Parr’s built up its presence in Cheshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire; by 1890 there were 22 branches and 21 sub-branches.

The Bank’s most important strategic move came in 1891 when it purchased the small London bank of Fuller, Banbury, Nix & Co. This gave Parr’s a seat on the London Clearing House and, in contrast to the nearby Bank of Liverpool it immediately moved the head office down to London. With Fuller giving the Bank an initial London presence, the substance was provided by the acquisition of the Alliance Bank in 1892. The Alliance had emerged from the financial reconstruction which had seen it lose its Liverpool and Manchester offices and now had 12 branches in London; in recognition of Alliance’s importance the name of the Bank was changed to Parr’s Banking Company and the Alliance Bank. Other smaller London banks were acquired and in 1896 it bought the Consolidated Bank, only slightly smaller than the Alliance, but this time a London bank with branches in Manchester. At that point, the name was returned to Parr’s Bank.

The 1890s also saw Parr’s embark on acquisitions in the midlands and the south west, important ones being Pare’s Leicestershire Banking in 1902 and Crompton and Evans’ Union Bank of Derby in 1914. However, its most prestigious acquisition was Stuckey’s Bank (1909) (the “Somersetshire Bank”) which “wielded great power in the west of England and had the largest note circulation of any bank in England outside the Bank of England”.

By the outbreak of war in 1914 Parr’s had almost 400 branches and sub-branches. In 1918 Parr’s agreed to amalgamate with the London County and Westminster Bank. The Chairman of Parr’s made the case: “We gain access to a very large area in the Home Counties. They gain a first-class introduction to Lancashire and to such leading towns in the Midlands as Leicester and Derby and a very valuable connection in the West of England.” The enlarged bank was renamed London County Westminster and Parr’s Bank.

For more details on the auction contact Kev Read on 01925 213987.