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 In his pamphlet “Martins Bank
Branches in Sussex” (1984) Mr A F Hill (pictured below in 1967) makes only a
short reference to Martins Bank’s sub-Branch at Goring by Sea. He notes that it is opened in early 1968, but
because of merger plans with Barclays, it is closed again in 1969 without
really having had the chance to make a significant contribution to Martins
Bank’s expansion.
 It
looks as though the area would have  provided good business for the
Bank, as the opening hours at Goring by Sea were set to the full six day
banking week. Opening on Saturday
Morning had been a fixture of banking dating back to the 1800s, but by the
end of 1969 the pressure from trades unions was enough for most banks in
England and Wales to close their doors on Saturday. For a short period, a
compensatory “late evening opening” was introduced until the banks opted to
add half an hour at each end of the previous Monday to Friday Hours. As it is
one of a number of sites where Barclays already has its own Branch, Goring by
Sea is indeed a very short-lived branch.
Whilst this happens to several other Martins Branches, some Barclays
Branches are also closed, in favour of better Martins premises. Our friends
at Barclays tell us that unfortunately they do not have any images of this
office. If you have memories and/or pictures of Goring by Sea sub branch that
will help us expand this page, please contact us at the usual address: gutinfo@btinternet.com
Someone who has done just that, is Martins Colleague and
Friend of the Archive Dave Baldwin, to whom we are grateful for this
contemporary image of Goring by Sea Branch taken in January 2014. Dave has
taken a number of pictures of our branches as they are in the twenty-first
century.
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In Service: 1968 until 28 February 1969
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections –
Dave Baldwin 2014
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