Check-in and check-out

Check-in is between 4pm and 7pm.  If you plan to arrive later than this, please let us know before you book.  We will try to accommodate later arrivals but this is not always possible.
 

Check-out is by 11am on the day of your departure. Please make sure you leave your room keys and also check you have all your belongings particularly phone chargers.

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If you need to drop off bags before check in time or leave bags to collect after check out this may be possible but please contact us to discuss this.

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Parking

Bank House has a small car park for guests which can fit three or four cars comfortably - more if you are staying as a group and are happy to block each other in.  Parking is free on the High Street and around the town,  See HOW TO FIND US for directions to the house and car park and information on public transport.

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Taxis

If you are likely to need a taxi during your stay we advise pre-booking.  The local service is run by Rus at Bishop's Castle Taxis 07551 825931.  The town also operates a dial-a-ride service which is particularly useful for walking groups who need dropping or collecting from either end of a linear walk - you can find their contact details here

 

Smoking and vaping
We operate a strict no smoking or vaping policy throughout our premises, including the garden. Smoking in the bedroom will render you liable for the cost of a deep clean to remove all traces of smoke.

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Pets

Bank House is home to our very wonderful cat – Brie - you may see her in the public areas of the house but she has not yet found a way to break into the guest bedrooms (nor would she ever be permitted to do so). If you have a severe allergy to cats this may not be the right place for you to stay.

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We do not accept any other pets at Bank House even the best behaved ones.

 

Accessibility

The position of Bank House on the High Street means that we do not have any access which is step free.  There is a flight of steps leading to the front door and all guest rooms are on the first floor.  Consequently the house in unsuitable for anyone with mobility issues and the town itself is built on a hill.

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WIFI

WIFI is available throughout the house.  The WIFI password is displayed in each room – on the mirror.

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Guest lounge

The panelled sitting room is available as a guest lounge and can comfortably seat 10 people.  The room includes a smart TV (with Netflix available), a DVD player and a Sonos speaker which you can connect to via Bluetooth.  There are cards, games and puzzles available including backgammon and crib.

 

Please note:  We do not have TVs in the guest rooms – we have found that most guests either choose to go out to eat in the evening or are staying as part of a group who tend to congregate in the sitting room.  Many guests prefer to watch programmes on their laptops or tablets and the WIFI signal is good in every bedroom.

 

A brief and sketchy history of Bank House

The house was built around 1700/ 1710 and was likely to have been a very grand home for a local merchant family.  This was a time of prosperity for the town (possibly built on wool and other agriculture) – the Castle Hotel was built in 1719 suggesting there was money about locally.  The footprint of the property at that time covered three burgage plots – long narrow strips of land which at that time ran from the High Street back to what is now Station Street.  The house has inevitably seen many changes over 300+ years one of the most remarkable being the double staircase – an arrangement that runs from the cellar up to the 2nd floor.  The architectural traces left behind suggest that the house had been divided in two with separate staircases erected either side of a central wall.

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The house has had a long association with banking eventually providing housing for the managers of the bank branch (now HSBC) which sits next door at number 6 High Street. This continued until the 1970s when the house became unoccupied and dilapidated.  The house was rescued from collapse in the 1980s by the Bennetts who then sold the house to Gerry in 2013.  While being structurally sound there was a need for a complete renovation including creation of rooms on the 2nd floor which were in a very poor state.  The house at that time had just one bathroom (believed to be the first indoor bathroom in Bishop’s Castle and probably dating from the Victorian era).  Following the renovation the house now has seven ensuite bathrooms.

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Gerry is hoping to conduct research to build a more detailed history of the house and in particular to find out what the original staircase may have looked like.