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Berwick, and consequently
Spittal are so far north, that they are off the edge of the coloured maps
used by Martins Bank in “Four Centuries of Banking” Vol II.
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In Service: 5 March 1923 until 1939
Extract
from Bank of Liverpool and Martins Annual Report for 1923 © Barclays
Extract
from Martins Bank Ltd Annual Report for 1938 © Barclays
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 Please forgive therefore, this somewhat rudimentary
effort (left) which is as published in Martins Bank Magazine in Autumn 1965. Berwick
upon Tweed is home to several branches and services between joining the Bank
of Liverpool and Martins in 1914 through the merger with the North Eastern
Banking Company, and the merger of Martins with Barclays in 1969. At various points during this time there
are sub branches at Berwick Corn Exchange, Lowick, Spittal and Tweedmouth,
and the unique Holy Island Banking Service.
That Spittal and Tweedmouth were ever large enough to be supported by
their own business is doubtful, but nevertheless the Bank of Liverpool and
Martins opens them within three days of each other in March 1923, and they
both operate until the outbreak of the Second World War. Fifteen years or so should be more than
enough to judge whether an outlet is profitable, and although we have no
evidence, we can assume that the closure of these sub branches is probably
well overdue when War comes along. In
an age where over 90% of customers would use only cash, Bank branches are as
essential as cash machines are today, but cold hard economics will always
dictate what should be kept on and what should be got rid of. None of this ties in of course, with our
romantic and nostalgic notions that there should be branches of Martins Bank
in every town and village! We
have no opening times for either Spittal or Tweedmouth, but we would be
surprised if they were open longer than a day or two each week, and they most
probably shared hours across the same days – e.g. one open in the morning,
the other in the afternoon.
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