History & Functions - The Central Bank of Malta

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Premises

Main Premises

The main premises of the Central Bank of Malta are situated on St James's Bastion, which occupies one of the highest points of Valletta. This bastion is part of the fortifications of the Valletta land-front designed by Francesco Laparelli, the construction of which began in 1566. Till the 1860s the Valletta land-front was still considered an important part of the city’s defences. The relevance of these defences started to wane in the 1870s as a consequence of developments in artillery.

By then, the flat open expanse of St James's Bastion was one of the few unbuilt areas available in Valletta. This probably influenced the choice of location when the British military authorities decided, in 1872, to build a gymnasium for the service of the garrisons of Valletta and Floriana. The Valletta Military Gymnasium was completed in March 1873.

The Vernon United Services Club, some time after its inauguration in 1924

Gradually the Gymnasium began to fulfil the secondary role of a town hall with frequent social activities being organised there by the higher echelons of the British garrison. The Gymnasium maintained its function till the outbreak of the First World War.

The war brought to Malta a large number of wounded and sick soldiers as a result of the Gallipoli campaign (1915). The question of providing entertainment for these troops arose. It was at this time that the Valletta Gymnasium was turned into a soldiers’ and sailors’ institute.

A bequest, to be utilised for the benefit of the soldiers and sailors stationed in Malta, left by the 8th Baron Vernon, who died in Malta during the war, provided the funds for the building of the Vernon United Services Club on the site of the former Gymnasium. The Vernon Club was formally opened in 1924, and maintained its function as a Services social club till 1967 when negotiations for the transfer of the Vernon Club premises to the Maltese Government were initiated.

A post-war picture of Valletta Main Gate with the Vernon Club in the background

In November 1967 when negotiations were almost concluded, it was agreed to transfer the Vernon Club Manager’s House, situated at the rear of the Club, to the Government of Malta. This building was used as temporary accommodation for the Central Bank of Malta. The building occupied by the Vernon Club was formally handed over to the Maltese Government on 5 April 1968, before being passed on to the Central Bank of Malta on a 99 year lease as from 1 July 1968.

The Vernon Club

When the premises were handed over to the Bank it was decided to retain the external structure of the Club and rebuild the interior to meet the needs of the new institution. The restructured premises, this time housing the Central Bank of Malta, were inaugurated on 13 February 1971.

The inside of the Vernon Club was demolished leaving just the outer walls

In September 2004, the Bank initiated negotiations with the Maltese Government for the acquisition of its main premises at Castille Place and the former Vernon Club Manager’s house on Pope Pius V Street. By the end of the year the contract of sale was finalised and both premises were transferred.

The Central Bank of Malta

Source: Cassar Kevin, The Central Bank of Malta: The Building and its History, 2008

St James's Counterguard

St James's Ditch 1856

Courtesy of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti - Windsor Collection

In 1987 the Bank started building a modern complex to accommodate its current and future needs, in an area of the bastions nearby known as St. James's Counterguard. Great emphasis was placed on blending the new structure with the historic nature of the site. Plans were drawn up by the renowned Maltese architect Richard England and works began in August 1990. For the first time in over 400 years the bastion walls were uncovered from the inside, revealing that they were built inclining inwards - a fact which was not previously known. The new building, now familiarly known as the ‘Annexe’, was opened on 18 April 1993 and is connected to the original building by a historical bridge that crosses over a wide ditch in the Valletta fortifications.

St James's Counterguard

The Polverista Conference Hall

Adjacent to the Annexe at St James's Counterguard is a polverista (gunpowder magazine) which knows its origins in 1640 as part of the fortifications built by the Knights of Malta. In 1859, it was rebuilt to hold more gunpowder barrels, a total of 450 barrels in all.

The polverista has a simple unpretentious structure constructed throughout in globigerina limestone with no claims to special architectural merits, since it was built for a specific purpose and which, by its outward appearance, solidity and its location in the heart of the landward Valletta fortifications, demonstrates its functionality as a purely military building.

A common feature of most gunpowder magazines in the Valletta harbour fortifications and elsewhere in Malta is the pitched roof on the outside and a semi-circular or segmental barrel vault on the inside. The sidewalls are 2.3m thick, constructed to withstand the lateral pressure of the vault and to ensure a constant temperature. In addition there was a ventilation system for both warm and cold weather conditions, incorporating judiciously placed open slits both at high and low levels externally which are connected to similar openings internally at the same levels.

Access to the polverista is through a door of modest proportions that leads into an entrance lobby meant to provide a ‘buffer’ or safe area with two small adjoining rooms which allowed users to change their clothing prior to entering the magazine proper.

The Central Bank of Malta restored the polverista, (a MEPA listed Grade 1 Protected Building) to its original state and now utilises this building primarily as a conference room, thus keeping this building in active use. Restoration works were finalised in 2007.

The Polverista

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