NatWest Bank in Farnham has closed its doors for good – bringing to an end 157 years of banking at its historic premises in The Borough.

The building was built in 1865 and was originally two shops; one housing the London and County Bank and the other auctioneer John Nash and later the International Tea Company.

In 1901, the London and County Bank acquired both shops and combined them to form the imposing bank that existed until its permanent closure on Tuesday, October 4.

The authors of the Farnham Town Plan of 1947 said the then-unfashionable bank “should be demolished” in 1947 on account of its “poor design, bad scale and height”.

But the bank remained – and in 1909 the London and County Bank became The Westminster Bank and in 1970 National Westminster Bank.

NatWest has blamed the “changing nature of banking” for the closure, with more people now banking online.