11-75-60 Birkenhead Park

The Bank of Liverpool opens a Branch at Park Road North Birkenhead in 1908, and so begins seventy six years of banking from what looks like a large town house in this well-to-do part of the Wirral. Unlike some other local Branches, Park remains open throughout the Second World War. It also survives the merger with Barclays in 1969 before being closed for good – quite appropriately - on the first day of the new tax year, 1984!

We have two features for this Branch, the first from 1959, is quite unusual: It involves a customer commemorating with a very special gift, the anniversary of their association with the Bank, which goes right back to when Park Branch first opened.

In Service: 1908 until 6 April 1984

Image © Barclays Ref 0030-0200

The second feature from 1967 says farewell to Park Manager, Mr Ken Pearson, whose retirement gathering is subject to the ubiquitous Martins retirement drinks party, covered in detail by Martins Bank Magazine. We finish with another in our series “then and now”, in which you can compare and contrast images of Birkenhead Park branch from the 1960s and 2009…

A Birkenhead Jubilee…

1959 01 MBM.jpg A PLEASING little ceremony took place at our Park branch, Birkenhead, on the afternoon of November 24th, when Mr. Thorald D. Lee, Chairman of Arthur H. Lee & Sons, Ltd., handed over to Mr. J. A. Banks, Liverpool District General Manager, representing the Bank, a framed tapestry to commemorate an association with the Bank of half a century. The design includes the coats of arms of Martins Bank and of the Lee family, while in the upper right hand comer of the panel is a tapestry mark used by Arthur H. Lee & Sons, Ltd. The lion crest of the Birkenhead Civic Arms has been differenced by the adoption of the guardant position of the head and the change of tincture from azure in the town arms to the gules of the tapestry mark.

Mr. Thorald Lee is standing in front of the tapestry with Mr. Banks and Mr. Weatherill on his right.

Mr. Ward can be seen fifth from the left and the two tapestry weavers are on the front row in front of him.

Images © Martins Bank Archive Collections

The whole is surmounted by an esquire's helmet and the mantling is tinctured vert and or, and azure and or, being a combination of the livery colours of the two achievements. A pleasing feature of the ceremony was the presence of two of the girls who had been mainly associated with the making of the tapestry. Mrs. Banks was there, too, also Mr. and Mrs. W. Weatherill and, of course, Mr. Ward, Manager of the branch, and Mrs. Ward. After Mr. Banks had suitably replied, accepting the gift on behalf of the Bank, refreshments were provided, introducing the right note of conviviality into the proceedings.

1967 02 MBM.jpg 1963 to 1967 Mr K C Pearson Manager MBM-Su67P56.jpg an informal gathering at the Pen and Wig, Liverpool, of his branch staff together with old friends and former colleagues marked the retirement at the end of March of Ken Pearson from the management of Park branch, Birkenhead. Typically, from one who never sought the limelight, the party was unostentatious, friendly and highly successful, the many good friends who attended being evidence of their high opinion of him and of his standing in the Bank. Mr Pearson's career began at Water Street in 1928 and apart from war service was spent on Merseyside: following four years with the visiting inspectors he became Manager at Higher Tranmere in 1960 and at Park in 1963.

Robert Montgomery’s collection of photographs bears witness to the fragile status of the British Bank Branch from 2009 onwards. From his collection of contemporary views of Martins Bank branches, comes this colour view of Park Branch in April 2009…