The E. S. & A. Bank building is a former branch office of the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank, located on Mount Alexander Road in , an inner western suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. Built in 1884, the building ceased being used as a bank branch in 1972 and was subsequently repurposed for other commercial use.
The former bank building was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 10 August 2017 in recognition of its architectural importance.
Description The English Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank opened a branch in nearby in . The current bank was designed by the notable architectural partnership Terry and Oakden and built in 1884; and is the finest of six Italianate Gothic Revival bank buildings designed by the firm. The building continued to operate as bank until June 1972 and closed following the merger of the ES&A Bank with ANZ Bank to form the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited. The building was acquired by a private owner, renovated, and was used as a commercial office.
In 2025, the Victorian branch of the English-Speaking Union reported as being the owner of the building and was preparing to divest ownership, citing that the resources required to continue to operate the sizeable heritage property outweigh the benefits of retaining ownership.
The former bank a two-storey Italian gothic style polychromatic brick building with a prominent, quadruple parapeted, gabled roof of slate. It is substantially intact and in excellent condition following an extensive renovation. Of particular note is the way in which the building makes excellent use of the corner site and the incised decoration of the rose/thistle/gumnut in the stone spandrels at the three windows around the corner.
See also
Architecture of Melbourne E. S. & A. Bank building, The Rocks List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the City of Moonee Valley
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External links