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SPRING/SUMMER 2018 NEWSLETTER |
AUTUMN/WINTER 2018 NEWSLETTER |
SPRING/SUMMER 2019 NEWSLETTER |
Contributors’ Special 2019 NEWSLETTER |
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From Drive-In Branches to computerisation
and the birth of the Cash Dispenser, it seems Martins Bank has it all. 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 74 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).
The Battle for Saturday mornings…
Another rare image found…
We are
indebted to ED THOMPSON, whose collection of old photos of that part of Kent
was swelled earlier this years by the receipt of
3000 glass plate images. The photo
shows the building used by the bank, and just as was the case with Dalston, a
member of staff is standing outside.
We believe
that he may well be Mr C W Cottell who is listed as Manager of Swanley in the
Bank’s Annual Report and Accounts for 1929, which were published early in
1930. It is also believed that the image was taken in 1930. It would seem that 2019 has been the year
of “discoveries”, as what might be the only image in existence of Chislehurst
High Street was also found and a copy donated to us a few months ago. Ed Thompson also supplied us with other
items, including a contemporary image of Otford sub Branch, which, it turns
out, was a great thing to do as the future of the building is currently in
doubt, and it might be knocked down.
There was also a scan from some title deed documents which show a
conveyance of land to Martins Bank on 16 April 1928, a couple of months
before the office was opened for business.
One thing leads to another…
At the same time we contacted Radio New Zealand International to ask
if Ian had any photographs from his father’s time with Martins Bank. When the reply came, it was not from New
Zealand, but Alberta CANADA, where another of Mr J A P Johnstone’s sons,
Andrew lives. Amongst several photographs of his father, was the image of him
standing outside a sub branch of the Bank of Liverpool and Martins. The carving above the door reads “WHIN
VIEW” and a quick search on Google® revealed Whin View to be a house in DALSTON, also near Carlisle. The current owner, Ken Johnson kindly sent
us an image of his house as it is today, which we have put alongside the
original photo for comparison.
By now you
might need to pause for breath, but to summarise the situation would be to
say that we are now in the happy position of having confirmation of the
existence of TWO former sub Branches of the Bank, both of which were closed
many years before the merger of Martins and Barclays. The photograph of
Dalston is likely to be the only one in existence, and had it not been for
Derek Longden’s original email in reference to another Carlisle sub Branch,
this curious trip around the World would not have happened!
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!!!
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, Friday 31 January
2020
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.
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