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 WELCOME to Martins Bank
Archive, and to MARTINS BANK MAGAZINE
- our news feature in honour of the Bank’s staff publication, which from 1946
to 1969 brought news of changing times, new Branches and services and even
new technologies to Staff in England Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle
of Man. From Drive-In Branches to
computerisation and the birth of the Cash Dispenser, it seems Martins Bank
has it all.
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SPRING/SUMMER
2021 NEWSLETTER
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AUTUMN/WINTER
2020 NEWSLETTER
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SPRING/SUMMER
2020 NEWSLETTER
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AUTUMN/WINTER
2019 NEWSLETTER
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 On 1 November 1968 Martins
Bank Limited becomes one of the Barclays Group of Companies – a status
maintained until close of Business on Friday 12 December 1969. The following Monday, 730 branches of the
bank will open their doors under the name of Barclays. As we find ourselves in times tinged with
the sadness of the closure of hundreds of Bank Branches, including those that
are former Martins Bank Branches, we
really do appreciate the continued
support of our ever increasing band of loyal visitors and contributors. There are now fewer than 80 Branches of
Martins Bank still open, and to mark their passing, our Branch Watch feature
now includes a separate page featuring details of THE LAST 64 BRANCHES . Our most recent news
stories are shown below, and you can catch up with some previous stories
in-depth, by downloading our half-yearly Newsletters (see above). Don’t forget to visit our sister site -
Lewis’s Bank Archive - which tells the story of Britain’s department store
bank for the nine years that it was a subsidiary of Martins Bank. Click HERE to
visit the Lewis’s Bank Archive web site (opens in a new window).
Martins
Branch Closures January to July 2021…
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The next round of BRANCH
CLOSURES to
affect former branches of Martins Bank, has been announced by Barclays. So
far, we know of SIX original Martins Bank
branches, some of them key to the history of the Bank - LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY which closed on 29 Jan 2021 and LANCASTER
UNIVERSITY
also closed 29 Jan 2021, were the first and the last of Martins’ University
outlets to be opened. Student Banking was a big market for the banks from
the late 1960s until the mid 1990s, when technolgy began to sound the
death-knell of branch banking. Our SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Newsletter is out now, and
it concentrates in particular on the birth of University Banking, which was
the brainchild of William T Green who worked for the Bank in
Liverpool. You can also read more in
our STUDENT BANKING feature. Liverpool
University began the experiment of Student Banking in this country in 1958,
and by 1988 there were one or more bank branches on just about every
university campus in the country.
Also closing early in 2021, were MORETON (CHESHIRE) 13 Jan 2021, WEST KIRBY 15 Jan 2021. In
February it was the turn of KEYNSHAM, one of the longest surviving branches of the Bank in the South
West, which departed on 24 Feb 2021. The fifth branch announced so far is FORMBY which closes its doors on 30 April. ASHINGTON has now also been added to the closure list, and will close its
doors for the last time on 16 Jul 2021
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Spring/Summer 2021 Newsletter
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… and
two that almost “slipped through the net”…
 The total number of Martins
Branches still open has been reduced by one, following the closure of LONDON BRUTON STREET (Berkeley Square) Branch on
22 February 2019. Unbeknown to us,
Barclays had changed the name of the Branch in 2009 to MAYFAIR, so when it closed, we just did
not notice! It is always sad to see a
Martins Branch close, but this one in particular had that certain magic to
its appearance that is only found in a very small number of bank branch
buildings still standing today. Opened
during the blitz of Summer 1940, Bruton Street retained an elegance and
charm, surviving war AND merger to serve for a total of almost 80 years. Even
when its distinctive windows were removed to accommodate the modern era of
banking, Bruton Street still looked every inch a superior branch. The branch opened originally in 1938 in
temporary premises which actually were in BERKELEY SQUARE… The original Martins Branch
at DARTFORD also went under the radar and was closed in
September 2020. As we enter April 2021, there are currently still 57 branches
of Martins Bank still open. By the end of April we will have lost at least
one more…
New
Arrivals…
 The accent is on design in
the acquisition of a feature from the Architectural Review Magazine, which
throw the spotlight on the features of Martins Bank’s new branch at GARRICK
STREET
London, which opened in 1955 and was known also as Covent Garden Branch. The
article gives details of the work of the Architect Hugh Casson, and the
designer Geoffrey Clarke whose bronze sculpture is seen across the front of
the Branch Building at 23 Garrick Street.
You can read more, and see the many pictures taken for the magazine
article on our Garrick Street Page…
 Another mystery has thrown
itself open courtesy of a coloured postcard of Southport Lord Street which is
dated somewhere between 1910 and 1918.
The branch bank shown has the name of the “BANK OF LIVERPOOL LIMITED” above the door, which
would indicate that this is number 365 LORD STREET. However, numbering of
adjacent properties in the picture seem to conflict with that thought as the
Outfitter’s shop S B Craven, next door, has the number 187 clearly showing
above the shop’s canopy. The only
other branch in Lord Street to have come into the possession of Martins Bank
is number 415, which originates from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank’s
portfolio. We will do some digging and
try to come up with an answer which can unlock the mystery. One thought we had, was that at some time
after this postcard was printed, maybe just into the era of the modern-day
Martins Bank in 1928, or perhaps even after the Second World War the road
numbers in Lord Street might have been re-allocated?
 We have also recently
acquired a rare photograph, which shows exactly what the building used as
Martins Bank’s SCARBOROUGH Branch looked like before it
was transformed into its new existence as a bank. It was 1935, and at Nos 95 and 96
Westborough, Arthur Pearson’s shop bears the sign that tells the town that a
new branch of Martins Bank is on its way.
A year later, with the address changed slightly to just “96
Westborough” work is complete and the bank is open for business.
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Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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Image © Barclays Ref 0030/2569
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The
mystery continues…
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A
mystery branch – but where is it?
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Once again we have stumbled
across a mystery branch of Martins Bank.
This recently acquired photograph (LEFT) which appears to have been taken in the
1940s or 50s shows quite clearly that a temporary branch has been opened on
this busy looking street of shops, but that it just about all we have to go
on. It was of course common for Martins either to arrive in a new town with
a temporary branch, whilst permanent premises were being finalised, built
or altered for the purpose of banking. Temporary branches were also used
when an existing branch needed to be given a complete makeover or
demolished and rebuilt.
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56
Fawcett St Sunderland 1963
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The smaller photograph here
(RIGHT) shows such a branch, emblazened
with the words “Temporary Premises” at Sunderland Fawcett Street in the
early 1960s. Our mystery branch appears to have a tobacconist shop on one
side and some kind of clothing shop on the other. That’s all we know for
now, so if you can help us track down the location, please do get in touch
at the usual address: gutinfo@btinternet.com
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Buyer Beware…
We
have left the following article here once again for reference, to help
explain the position regarding the theft of copyrighted images for the
purposes of re-sale. There is a common misconception that if you
can Google an image, then it is “in the public domain” and you can do what
you want with it. Even some staff at eBay® believed this until they were
recently put right – if you take or
copy someone else’s work or property without their permission or acknowledgement,
and sell it on to make even a penny
out of it, this is breach of copyright, and the real owner can take legal
recourse to stop further theft and misuse of their property. There are currently on eBay® a number of listings of photographs for
sale, showing scenes from the past and old buildings including these four
(and many more) Branches of Martins Bank.
These images originated on our web site. As you can see, under our agreement with
the owner, we prominently display copyright. These images have been copied
and printed onto cheap photographic paper. The seller even has the gall to
add their own watermark to the displayed images to prevent others from
stealing them!!!
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STAINLAND
Image © Barclays
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SITTINGBOURNE
Image created by Martins Bank
Archive and © Barclays
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BURTON UPON TRENT
Image © Barclays
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WALLASEY
Image © Barclays
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As well as being against copyright law, these
items are worthless, having little more than sentimental value – you will
often find that collections and archives will make images available free of
charge for private use, but you MUST check with them first. You should always
check the seller’s right to copy the image – reputable sites such as eBay® do
now allow you to report copyright infringement. For ANY item of memorabilia,
the best thing to do is shop around and compare prices – in the case of
Martins Bank there are often up to twenty different items for sale on eBay®
alone on any given day. For printed material which looks as if it has been
copied, or actually claims to be a copy, ALWAYS question the seller about
copyright.
Best Regards, Jonathan.
Westmorland, Wednesday 31 March 2021
WHILST MARTINS BANK
ARCHIVE HAS NO CONNECTION WITH THE DAY-TO-DAY TRADING ACTIVITIES OF THE
BARCLAYS GROUP OF
COMPANIES, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE CONTINUED GENEROUS GUIDANCE, ADVICE
AND SUPPORT OF BARCLAYS
GROUP ARCHIVES IN THE BUILDING AND SHAPING OF THIS ONLINE SOCIAL HISTORY.
 R
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