London & County Bank

The London & County Bank was founded in 1836 and opened its first branch in Brentwood in before 1860. The earliest recorded manager was R Roberts, who was the manager by 1864. It was originally located in one half of the old Crown Inn building on the High Street. In 1883, the bank was able to afford to build a new building on the site of the old Crown Inn. The new building was designed by the architect Zephaniah King and was built in red brick with stone dressings.

The building was used as a bank until it was taken over by Brentwood Council under compulsory purchase order as part of a large redevelopment that would ultimately create the Bay Tree Centre. This work began in 1974 and the building was demolished. The redeveloped site was still used as a bank, and is currently owned by Natwest.