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Martins Bank is very proud of its branches in Wales,
especially as Barclays’ presence there is particularly strong. It is Martins that pioneers the use of
bi-lingual cheques - the idea of a
Welsh speaking Manager - and the Bank maintains a consistently high profile
in Wales over many years, attending the National Eisteddfod, and many of the
Welsh agricultural shows. Colwyn Bay
branch is opened by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins on 1ST December 1927 and has been going
strong ever since. Despite a quite
horrible re-design in the 1970s, (see “then and a little bit later” below)
the building still retains its corner aspect - a typical style favoured by
many banks over the years, because it makes their business visible in two
streets at once, especially with carefully placed signage! Martins Bank Magazine packs a bucket and
spade and heads to Colwyn bay for a feature in its Summer 1961 Issue, taking
the opportunity to be shown around the childhood haunts of the Magazine’s
Editor…
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In Service: 1927 until
present day – still open as a branch of Barclays
Branch Images © Barclays Ref: 0030/0700
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 We have
spent several very pleasant holidays at Colwyn Bay and so when Mr. Moncreiff
wrote urging us to get there as early in the day as possible so that he could
show us some of the beauties of the district we realised that he either did
not know of our earlier visits or else that he contemplated something
oriental—the
kind of hospitality which we have always understood is laid on for visiting
potentates! We travelled by the first
train and presented ourselves at the branch as soon as we could, and after
receiving a warm welcome from our Colwyn Bay colleagues a quick look round
told us something which we are constantly discovering for ourselves in
editing this Magazine, that people use the same word with quite different
meanings.
 Not
only had the staff not been augmented for the day, but one of the two beauties
was actually away on sick leave. This was Miss A. Fitzgerald, who entered the
service last August after leaving Howell's School. We were sorry not to see
her but glad that she was back in time to be included in the photograph. The other girl, Miss H. P. Gray, officially on Head
Office Relief Staff, but actually normally stationed at Colwyn Bay, we knew
quite well. She was a member of our Swiss 1949 Party and also of this year's
Italian Lakes Party. But although we know her quite well, we must confess
that we still have difficulty in deciding which is Pat Gray, and which is her
twin sister Betty, whom we have also met on both Tours.
 Mr. A. D. Moncreiff is an old friend and
following his nine years sojourn in Staff Department from 1926 until his appointment
as Manager at Colwyn Bay in 1935 he is widely known throughout the service.
He commenced his service at Central branch in 1916 and subsequently served at
East, Waterloo, Inspection Department, Birkdale, Head Office Correspondence
Department and Stock Loan Department, and at Smithdown. Mr. Moncreiff is performing a very good job of work with
one of the local branches of the Sea Cadet Corps in which he holds the rank
of Lieutenant, R.N.V.R.(S). His first contact with the Senior Service was
made during the latter part of World War I. His
other great interest is the British Red Cross Society in which he is
Treasurer of the North Denbighshire branch.
We had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Moncreiff and of lunching
with them both, afterwards returning to the branch to complete our visit. Mr. H. C. Taylor is second man and we were interested to
discover that he also was an old boy of Central branch, our own first branch.
Mr. Taylor served with the Liverpool Scottish in the First World War and was
wounded at Hooge, subsequently going to Egypt. He is actively interested in
the work of the British Legion and is Hon. Treasurer of the Llanddulas
branch, and of the West Denbigh County Committee. He is also a member of the
Central Committee of Martins Bank Golfing Society and is Secretary of the
North Wales District for the Qualifying Rounds. H. B. Howell-Jones entered the Bank in 1928 and has
served at Spring Gardens, Burnage, Manchester District Office, Urmston and
Rhyl before going to Colwyn Bay in 1946. He is actively associated with the
work of the Society of Friends and we were interested to discover that he
knew Quaker friends of ours with whom we had stayed in Bentham a few days
before. The junior is P. M. Dunn, a
likely-looking lad of 6 feet 4 inches who entered the service at Colwyn Bay
in 1949 and is hoping to do his National Service with the Navy later this
year. Colwyn Bay is a pleasant place in
which to work and live and our branch is attractively situated in the main
street. In the sunshine of a beautiful Spring day, with the sun sparkling on
the waters of the Bay and masses of purple aubretia flowering on the walls of
every cottage garden we can surely be forgiven for the fleeting thought which
crossed our minds: - “Why live in places like Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds?”
Who ever granted planning permission for this?
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  What a terrible shame! The 1970s,
like the sixties before them, bring a lust for change, and a race between
architects wielding the power to “shock”. The a result is a riot of
concrete, glass, and rust-prone steel reinforcements that today makes us
shudder and simply ask WHY?
We are indebted once more to Robert Montgomery, who has spent more
than ten years taking photographs of bank branches, many of which are no
longer trading. This makes Robert’s
work all the more important, as the first two decades of the twenty-first
century witness the death of the bank branch. That we now as customers of a bank find
ourselves being re-directed to the Post Office if we need cash is a concept
that until the 2000s, most people would have laughed out loud at the
thought of. As leases come to an
end, many banks don’t even pause for thought before weilding the axe, and
having made everyone use internet banking, there is now a perfect excuse
for closing a branch – no-one uses it any more! That’s progress for you….
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Image © Barclays Ref: 0030-0700
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Image © Martins Bank Archive
Collections – Robert Montgomery
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