Early 20th century · 62 Bank Street · Category C listed, LB50670
A compact early twentieth-century commercial building created by street widening on the former site of the King's Temperance Hotel.
Last reviewed: 17 July 2026
Quick Facts
| Date | Early 20th century |
|---|---|
| Location | 62 Bank Street |
| Building or site type | Commercial corner building |
| Designation | Category C listed, LB50670 |
| Architect or maker | Not identified |
| Current use | Commercial use |
| Public access | Exterior visible from public streets |
Why It Matters
Corner House explains how road improvement physically reshaped the old town centre. Its sharply handled corner, classical stonework and mosaic name survive from a small but telling episode of urban reconstruction.
The Story
The building replaced the King's Temperance Hotel when widening at Market Street changed the site. Rather than disguising the awkward plot, the new design used a tall, truncated corner form to address both streets.
The two-storey ashlar elevation is classical in character, with pilasters, architraved upper windows, a corbelled parapet and a mansard roof. Later shopfronts have altered the ground floor, but the upper composition remains coherent.
A mosaic threshold reading 'CORNER HOUSE' preserves the building's historic name at pedestrian level. HES also records a surviving panelled room and attic stair on the first floor, although these are not normally visible to visitors.
Its significance is partly cumulative: together with the fountain, Bank Street terraces and Burgh Chambers, Corner House makes the town centre legible as a place repeatedly adjusted to movement, commerce and civic display.
Things to Notice
- The deliberately clipped corner responding to the widened street
- Ashlar pilasters and window architraves
- The mansard roof and central dormer
- The mosaic 'CORNER HOUSE' entrance step
- The contrast between later shopfronts and the original upper floor
Timeline
- Before construction – the King's Temperance Hotel occupies the site
- Early 20th century – street widening prompts the replacement building
- By 1930 – Corner House appears on Ordnance Survey mapping
- Later 20th/21st centuries – shopfronts and interiors are adapted
- Today – the building anchors a busy town-centre corner
Significance Scores
| Criterion | Score | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural interest | 3 / 5 | The sharply handled corner, classical stonework, mansard roof and surviving mosaic name form a coherent urban design. |
| Historical importance | 4 / 5 | It records how street widening and improvement reshaped the historic commercial centre. |
| Social significance | 4 / 5 | The building illustrates the interaction of planning, shops and everyday movement through Bank Street. |
| Rarity | 4 / 5 | Its adaptation to an awkward truncated site, together with surviving interior details, is locally distinctive. |
| Townscape or landscape contribution | 4 / 5 | The tall corner form makes a strong contribution to the junction of Bank Street and Market Street. |
Scores follow the Heritage Directory’s published methodology. They are interpretive judgements, not statutory designations.
Notes and Uncertainties
HES gives an early twentieth-century date but does not identify an architect or exact year. The principal photograph is a wider view of Cornmill Square; Corner House is identified by matching the HES location and its distinctive tall, truncated ashlar form.
Image and Licence Notes
The principal photograph, Cornmill Square, Galashiels, by Jim Barton is reused from Wikimedia Commons under the CC BY-SA 2.0 licence. It was taken on 8 October 2020. The image is shown without alteration.