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 The presence of Martins Bank
on the Isle of Man is down to the amalgamation in 1928 of the Bank of
Liverpool and Martins and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank. It was the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank
that inherited a total of six offices across the island from its acquisition
of the Mercantile Bank of Lancashire, who had in turn inherited them from
taking over the Manx Bank.
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In Service: 1940s until 21 November 1969
Branch
Images © Barclays Ref: 0030-0481
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Effectively
“offshore”, both the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are good homes for
the services provided by Trust Company, and Martins Bank Trustee and
Investment Company (Isle of Man) Limited offers a comprehensive range of
products for investors who put their money into the Island.
 Although Martins’ expertise
as a provider of executor and trustee services goes back decades, the overall
service offered by Trust Company evolves and diversifies right up to the
merger with Barclays. The result is
such a well run and importantly well-trusted company that is unmatched by
Barclays, who are therefore delighted to take it on board in 1969. Martins Bank Magazine writes about only a few
of Martins’ Trust Company offices around the country, and although there was
no look at the most up to date aspects of Trustee and investment work on the
Isle of Man, the following paragraph from a visit to Douglas in 1950 explains
some of the early complexities in running the service under what is
effectively a foreign government:
 Douglas branch
is unique in several respects; first because the note issue of the Bank, the
rights of which were acquired when the amalgamation with the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Bank took place, is managed from there and every note has to be
recorded from the time of its issue until it is destroyed. Secondly, owing to
the existence of Manx laws which are not recognised in England, and vice
versa, all the Bank's Trustee business in the Island has to be administered
through the manager of the branch instead of direct with the Trustee
Department, and for the same reason and resulting transfer difficulties, the
branch issues its own Trust
Certificates in exchange for 3½% War Stock and keeps its own Trust Register,
virtually maintaining in this and the Note Department two departments like
Bank of England departments on a tiny scale, adding considerably to the
normal work of the branch.
Some of this extra work is (rather sadly) removed in 1961,
when a change in Manx Law removes the right of Martins and other banks to
issue their own banknotes on the island. At the moment we have no staff
images or staff listed as working for Martins Bank Executor and Trustee
Company (Isle of Man) Limited, so If you can help with images and/or
information about this or any of our other branches, please do get in touch
with us at the usual address gutinfo@btinternet.com.
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