This statue at the centre of the huge building's Church Street façade is a variant of the city's arms, in which Neptune (on the left) and a Triton (on the right) are normally depicted standing upright. The shield, depicting the Liver bird holding a piece of seaweed, is atypically ornate too, but the motto, 'Deus Nobis Hæc Otia Fecit' ('God has bestowed these blessings on us') is standard.

Compton House was built in 1865 for J.R. Jeffrey, qualifying it as possibly the world's first department store. It later became well-known as Compton's Hotel, but as the poorly-integrated logo indicates, the building has returned to retail use as a large branch of Marks & Spencer.