The ‘Tudor House’

It was decided to construct a new thoroughfare direct from the High Street to the railway station. But to do this an opening would need to be made and, as a timber-framed building that could be taken down relatively easily, the Hop Pole was sacrificed. The new road, appropriately called New Road, opened in 1865.

Following a campaign to save this ancient building, the Worcester City & County Banking Company bought the materials and re-erected it on the left hand side of New Road. Such an act of conservation was highly unusual for the time. The architect, W.J. Hopkins of Worcester, used some of the original timbers from the second floor, but the lower floor was completely redesigned, incorporating a ‘Gothic’ porch and oriel window. The total cost of the building work was £2,000 and the bank moved into its new premises in November 1868.

The building has been through several incarnations since. In 1889 the Worcester City & County Banking Company was taken over by Lloyds Bank who moved to the High Street in 1913. By this time the property was generally referred to as the Tudor House. It became home to several generations of estate agents and is currently occupied by Your Move.

by Mike Sharpe