11-51-80 Taunton Cattle Market

Please forgive the slightly fuzzy image (below right), – Martins Bank’s Taunton Cattle Market Sub-Branch can be seen on the right, and the Westminster Bank is on the left. It’s 1966 and it seems that Taunton Cattle Market is the place to be, if you are a bank. This is your one and only chance to have a look round, as Martins’ sub-Branch here lasts just three years, and closes just before the merger with Barclays in 1969. Cattle trading takes place on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and the Bank provides a service on each of these days, for a total of six and a half hours each week.

In Service: 4 January 1966 until 1969

Images © Barclays Ref 0033-0544

The fact that this tiny branch is also “on the phone” says more about protection in case of robbery than it does about status - in years gone by the Bank’s remote outposts were just that – remote, and a chance for staff to get away from the bustle of their main branch for a few hours. South Western is the youngest of Martins Bank’s Districts, and expansion continues right up to the Barclays merger. This makes it even more frustrating that many of the Bank’s newest outlets will be closed down before they have a chance to get going. Taunton Cattle market Sub is cramped, yet functional, and our customers are afforded some privacy in the shape of a small interview room…