Midland Bank, Baker Street 1974

A classic 1970s view of the Midland Bank branch on the prominent corner of Baker Street and Marylebone Road, housed in one of the imposing Portland-stone buildings that line this busy junction. The bold blue-and-gold Midland signage — instantly recognisable to anyone who banked in Britain during the post-war decades — stands beneath the tall arched windows and heavy rusticated stonework typical of early 20th-century commercial architecture.

This branch traded under the Midland name for another 25 years until 1999, when the brand was formally retired following Midland’s acquisition by HSBC. From that year onward, thousands of Midland branches across the UK, including this one, were rebranded as HSBC, marking the end of one of Britain’s best-known high-street banking names.

A snapshot of Marylebone in the mid-Seventies, when Midland Bank still occupied prime city-centre corners and the Baker Street area was on the cusp of the large-scale commercial redevelopment that would reshape much of the district in the decades to come.