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Opening a branch in Ashford takes Martins back
once more to its Southern roots, as it is the old Martin’s Private Bank of
Lombard Street that originally provides a clutch of London and Kentish Border
branches when it merges with the Bank of Liverpool in 1918. The problem
for the modern-day Martins is going to be the effect that merging with
Barclays will have on the South of England branches it has worked so hard to
build for more than fifty years. Although the
Merger is made official in November 1968, it will take until the end of 1969
to work out the complexities of the Branch Network. |
In Service: 4 November 1965 until 15 November 1982 Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections |
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Things will be
better for Martins in its Northern heartlands, with many Barclays Branches
closing in favour of bigger or more modern Martins outlets. In the Midlands and the South, Martins has
opened branches in towns and cities where it has been in direct competition with
its new owners. Ashford is lucky enough to survive for thirteen years after
the Merger. For our feature, we
visit Ashford not long after opening, and the Winter 1965 edition of Martins
Bank Magazine shows us round. the grainy black and white and the one precious
colour image are all that are left to show us Ashford Branch under its
original owners… |
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“The mountain sheep are
sweeter, but the valley sheep
are fatter; we therefore deemed it
meeter to carry off the latter”… ( T L Peacock ) That little jingle
may explain why the man at our hotel had been coming to Ashford once a week
from July to November for thirty years to buy sheep. Having bought these
products of Kent's rich fields and the Romney Marsh he resold them throughout
the West Country and even in the Midlands. On November 5, the day we called
at our new branch, the last sheep sale was being held at the market but our friend thought he'd buy very few because too
many people would be after them. Just as Ashford market provided a lively
interest for sheep buyers, our new office was a source of interest to people
in High Street. We had opened the day before and
on the morning of our visit, more new customers arrived.
Many people stopped to peer in and their comments were invariably favourable. |
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The branch has tremendous depth. Behind
the screen is a working space, an interview room, manager’s
room, vast machine room, strong room and behind that a
car park. Upstairs are storerooms and staff rooms. There
is nothing cut-price about the branch and certainly nothing skimped in the service
it provides. Mr J. S. Ford has a great keenness
and sense of humour. His promotion in February to Pro Manager came
as no surprise to us and his appointment as
manager of Ashford branch seems a logical step
forward. He is a terror for punishment and within
three days opened the new branch, coped with us and a hundred
other problems, and moved house. Mr P. J. G. Cleary, a native of Galway who
studied medicine for three years before deciding it was not for him, is
probably the only man to enter the service by getting
off a bus, going into a post office and with a post office pen replying to an
advertisement while on holiday in England in 1951. During his spell at
Dartford branch he founded the Dartford Irish Club which became the third
largest in England and, though it nearly killed him, we
predict that something similar will occur in Ashford because we saw it
beginning to work at the counter. Good-humoured friendliness, a willingness
to be of help and an unmistakable trace of an accent
made quite an impression.x Mr M. Cavender with two years' service at
Rochester and a twinkle in his eye, is the third man
on the staff. Mrs
P. M. O. Loughlin is an experienced shorthand typist who, though she joined the
Bank only a few weeks earlier, hopes soon to add
cashiering to her repertoire. Ashford has great possibilities. Like Canterbury it has a wide hinterland and though industry to the west will counteract the closing of the railway
workshops the country town
atmosphere predominates. We saw no bowlers
and few umbrellas in the main street but plenty of sticks, caps and
dufflecoats. One man in a dufflecoat said
'I reckon in twelve months a Friesian with calf at foot'll cost you £180'. His companion was willing to pay up to £65 for 'good bullin' 'eifers' if he
could get them. It
seemed that a lot of money was going to change hands in Ashford and we think the new branch
will see quite a lot of it… |
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All Images © Martins Bank
Archive Collections |
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A Lion in Ashford… Being a bank manager
in the 1960s doesn’t simply mean sitting behind a desk. Being -
and actively demonstrating that you ARE - a pillar of the community is
almost expected of you. All in a day’s work
then for Mr Ford, who has been managing the new branch for less than three
years when he rolls up his sleeves and mucks in for charity as president of
the local Lions Club. The write up in
Martins Bank Magazine is short but sweet, and includes this shot of Mr and
Mrs Ford looking very pleased! Pictured
at the inaugural dinner of the Ashford Lions Club, the president, Mr. J. S.
Ford (Manager, Ashford Branch) receives the Lions Club Charter. Seated is Mrs Ford. |
Image
© Martins Bank Archive Collections |
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