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 Whereas the list of owners of its Isle of Man Branches goes
back to 1882, Martins Bank does not have a long association with the Channel Islands
– opening first of all in Jersey in 1951, Guernsey in 1955, and adding two
sub branches on Jersey at St Brelade in 1960 and at Gorey in 1964. Having Branches in two offshore
dependencies is very much a feather in the Bank’s cap, and both sites will go
on to provide rich earnings for Martins Bank Trust Company, and its Barclays
successors to this day (although the network of branches in these locations
has been much reduced).
The first image of 30 Halkett Place is from 1950, when having been obtained
by Martins Bank, St Helier’s Halkett Hotel is about to be transformed… The
second image shows the original façade of Martins’ St Helier Branch but with
business expanding, a complete makeover is on the way: In 1963 Martins Bank
is riding high, celebrating 400 years of a banking business on the site of
London District Office, 68 Lombard Street.
No expense is spared on the upgrade of number of key branches from
Kendal in the North, all the way down the country to St Helier, Martins’
Southernmost Outlet.
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In Service: 1951 until August 1988
Images © Barclays Ref
0030-1444
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The results for Jersey are spectacular, including a modern exterior that
is still very much in keeping with the area, and a tastefully executed
interior that seems to be at least twice the size of the old one. With the
merger still out of sight a few years round the corner, these are high
spending times for Martins.The Bank takes a large number of photographs both
of the original and of the refurbished interiors at St Helier, and we are
able to present most of them here for you, to show the transformation from a
traditional bank interior to one that is ready to embrace the “Swinging
Sixties”.
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Branch Images
© Barclays Ref 0030-1444
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Branch Images
© Barclays Ref 0030-1444
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Branch
Images © Barclays Ref 0030-1444
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A mural depicting a panoramic view of St Aubin’s Bay is the backdrop to
the new counter, which is made from teak and is a colossal 36 feet (11
metres) long. For our features, we
visit St Helier in 1966, and then wind the clock back another three years to hear
more about the new counter and the logistical problems it presented,
including setting a record for the largest item of furniture ever transported
by air to Jersey!
 St Helier branch,
which opened fifteen years ago with
a staff of four and today employs twenty-eight, is
an excellent example of the success of an undertaking proving a spur to both
management and staff. The office is such a hive of activity that by
comparison the sub branches at Gorey and St Brelade appear havens of rest,
but those who man them return to do their full stint of the day's work at the
parent office. With the bulk of
Jersey's population in the south it is understandable that the subs are
situated respectively in an expanding 'new' area and in a fashionable resort.
The island's prime concern from February onwards is of course the potato crop
which is often followed by tomatoes. Next comes tourism and here, perhaps,
lies the reason for the label 'commercialised' for Jersey certainly offers
the visitor bright lights, floor shows and the top in holiday entertainment
if he wants them. If he does not want them he can seek the quiet cliffs and
country. Owing to a misunderstanding over flight reservations, with which
nobody would dare to muck about during a shipping strike, our visit to St
Helier branch was shorter than we would have liked but we met everybody
except Mr Soulsby and saw enough to appreciate the problems of a
self-supporting big office which in moments of real crisis can expect little
but sympathy from a District Office 100 miles away from the island.
The St Hélier Staff (1966)
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Front row
Mrs G L Garnham
J J Meyer Pro
Manager
T Soulsby
Assistant Manager
I L Chambers Manager
W E Richardson
Trust Controller Executor & Trustee
Company
J H Ison Pro
Manager
Mrs 1 L S Mason
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Second row
Miss V A Marett
Mrs E B Fortun
Mrs G Godel
Mrs D B Layton
Miss S E Blake
Miss J Shirley
Mrs L J Harris
Miss S A P Andre
Mrs J W Garrett
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Third row
Miss P Mills
E J Figgett
G F Buesnel
J D R Heppolette
(Executor &
Trustee Company)
A J Richardson
J A Blackwell
H S Perkins
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Back row
H Siddall
P L Griffiths
P J Collins
M G Russell
S Gardner
M A Wallser
Mrs J E Norman
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(Miss S Williams and Mr J Smith, Pro Manager, were
away when the photograph was taken)
 The staff in Jersey are a grand mixture of 'imported' and 'home-bred'.
One expects to find a sprinkling of men from London District replacing those
who have gone to the mainland to gain wider experience, but to find two lady
Mancunians was a surprise indeed. Another point of interest was the high
proportion of senior married ladies so valuable and necessary these days when
girls seem to marry so much earlier and leave in their early twenties. The branch outgrew itself several years ago
but now has adequate room for expansion which, judging by past records, will
come sooner than expected for Mr Chambers is not one to take life easily. In
15 years he has built a business to be proud of and, with his wife, given
unstintingly of time and energy in ambassadorial duties: here as in Guernsey
sound banking knowledge, hard work and the ability to meet, mix and assess
have proved invaluable.
St Helier branch is fully mechanised—Guernsey branch partially—and at neither office would anybody
be tolerated who attempted to post ledgers with his feet up. So although
these islands in the sun are an open temptation to idleness you would be wise
to cross them off your banking list. Sorry to disappoint but did you really
want an easy way out?
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A Premises Problem…
(or a tight fit in
Jersey!)
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The new counter for our extended premises
at St Helier branch was part of the design by a local architect, Mr W. H.
Davies, A.R.I.B.A., but nobody expected that it would make news. Manufactured
from teak at North Acton it is 36 feet long, 3’ 9” wide, 13/8in
thick and weighs 1,000 lbs. It was taken by road to London Airport and
flown in a B.E.A. Argosy freighter to Jersey—the largest single piece of furniture
ever carried to the Island by air. On
arrival it was eased out of the aircraft on trestles to a plant service
trailer, the weight of the overhang being taken by a pick-up truck, and was
then moved to the contractors' Le Quennevais workshop to be worked on and
polished. Early one Sunday morning, with a
police escort, it resumed its journey and we are indebted to Mr B. H. E.
Clarkson of London District Premises Department for providing the photographs
of what might aptly be termed a
tight fit in Jersey…
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