The Swansea branch bank was the third of the Bank of England branches to open, on 23 October 1826. In August 1826 George Bailey was sent to Swansea to meet the Bank's newly-appointed agent, John Parry Wilkins, and to search with him for suitable premises. Two sites were considered: drawings 1-5 relate to Burrows Lodge, while drawings 6-14 show the Old Bank on Temple Street, the lease of which was purchased from the assignees of Gibbins, Smith & Goode. Work on the Old Bank appears to have been undertaken in two phases. The first phase in 1826 included initial surveying of the premises, the construction of the west wing of the bank and such alterations as were necessary to open the bank for business (drawings 6-8). The second phase (drawings 9-13), initiated in the summer of 1830, consisted of alterations in the stable yard to the west of the bank and substantial repairs and renovation to both the interior and exterior of the premises, detailed in a 'List of Fixtures and Furniture', an 'Abstract of the Repairs' and a specification (documents 17-20).

An 1823 map of Swansea in the Soane collection (SM 57/3/1) shows the location of A. The Old Bank Mess^r Gibbins & Eaton, B. Burrows Lodge and C. New Town Hall, now building, added in pen. The map shows Temple Street running perpendicular to Castle Baily Street (east) and Goat Street (west) at what is now the north side of Castle Square. Burrows Lodge was located at the south end of Rutland Place, close to what is now the junction of Princess Way and Victoria Road.

The Old Bank was bought by the Glamorganshire Bank in 1859 and demolished. However, a model of the building survives and can be seen in the Swansea Museum. Burrows Lodge, which became at one time the office of the Great Western Railway Co., was reported by W. Marston Acres to be 'still standing' in 1931, albeit in a dilapidated condition.

Literature:
W. Marston Acres, The Bank of England from Within, 1694-1900, Vol. II, 1931, pp. 429-32.

Tom Drysdale, January 2013