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From burger buns to spring rolls…
A bright shop front is finished
off with the golden grasshopper of the South at right-angles to the building,
above the front door. Steel and glass windows and frames incorporate the
letter box and the night safe which are spaces equally apart on the front of
the building. |
In Service: 1966 until 12 December 1969
Branch images © Barclays Ref: 0030-0324
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Although this particular
building in Boscombe does not continue to trade as Barclays following the
merger, the town itself moves from Hampshire to Dorset overnight - on April
Fool’s Day 1974 - yes, REALLY!
In the 2020s it is refreshing to see that many of the unpopular
arbitrary changes to country boundaries made on that fateful day are being
looked at once more with a view to restoring the historic counties of England.
2023 will see the return of Westmorland, once the setting for large number of
Martins Bank Branches, as the unwieldy Cumbria County administration is removed,
and the area split back into two, covering roughly the historic counties of
Cumberland and Westmorland. A
curious history… The story of the Bank’s connection to Bournemouth begins in
1925, when the Bank of Liverpool and Martins chooses 128/130 Old Christchurch
Road as the location for its branch in the town.In 1934 Martins Bank
relocates to 49 Old Christchurch Road, and this is the branch that
survives the 1969 merger with Barclays and lasts until until 1975. Interestingly, although the South Coast
could not be further from its catchment area, the Halifax Equitable Bank also
has a branch in the same road from about 1925, until its merger with the Bank
of Liverpool and Martins in 1927.
Having its own sub-Branch locally, Barclays has no use for Boscombe
Branch, which is closed on the eve of the merger in December 1969…
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Behind the scenes – perhaps it’s all a little too
neat and tidy?
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Handy for lunch: This 1960s icon faces another
- the Wimpy Bar! |
Front of house – ready for business |
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