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The West
Riding Union Bank opens its Branch at Mirfield as long ago as 1799. The
following extracts from FOUR CENTURIES
OF BANKING Volume
II © 1968 Martins Bank Limited, give a fairly potted history of Banking in
the Mirfield area of Yorkshire. There are
many players in the market, and some banks have evolved through the coming
and going of many partners before finally settling down to business. The first major Bank to operate this Branch
at Mirfield is the West Riding Union Bank, which is taken over by the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank in 1902…
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In service:
11 May 1928 – 18 February 2011
Image ©
Martins Bank Archive Collections – W N Townson Bequest
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{Whereas the Craven Bank was acquired by the Bank of
Liverpool Limited, and the Halifax Bank by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins
Limited, the WEST RIDING UNION BANK was taken over in 1902 by the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Bank, before its own absorption into the Bank of Liverpool and
Martins in 1928. The West Riding Union Bank evolved out of private banks
operating at first in Huddersfield, Mirfield and Dewsbury.} {Mirfield on the River Calder is also
served by the Calder Canal and became a centre for the manufacture of carpets
and blankets for cotton spinning. The
Bank started as a private bank of the Wilsons of Huddersfield and Mirfield,
it became a local joint stock bank, and then by amalgamation with Hagues,
Cook and Wormald of Dewsbury, a district bank of unlimited liability, and
finally a district bank of limited liability.}
 The above images
show the Mirfield branch of the West Riding Union Bank as acquired by the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank. By the
1960s the building is no longer fit for purpose as a modern day bank, and it
is demolished and re-built by Martins.
The image to the right is a rare example of a Mirfield Bank £1 note
signed by Ben Wilson, whose portrait hangs at Mirfield Branch. In 1966
Martins Bank Magazine undertakes a number of fleeting visits to the Bank’s
branches along the River Calder, and the resulting few lines for Mirfield are
shown below. Whilst at first glance
the group staff image appears to be spoiled, this is actually a “special
effect” designed to represent the flow of the River Calder across the pages
of the magazine article (!) Following
our trip down the river, we attend the retirement celebrations of the A C
Alderson, Manager of Mirfield Branch from 1949 to 1963.
  Visibility was
down to 150 yards and in a cautious drive to Mirfield through the fog, mist
or low cloud, we saw very little beyond the road. Ben Wilson had a banking business at Mirfield
in 1799 and though the old site has been demolished, a stone dated 1824 has
been retrieved by Mr Cooper for his room.
The main business used to be wool and barley but today covers
malsters, carpet yarns, coach and wagon building and ladies’ coatings, and
the cheerful staff includes a young lady, Miss Scargill, who left her parents
behind in the warm climate of Georgia
to return to Yorkshire ‘because she missed it’. On that sort of day,
such an attitude gave us fresh heart…
  Mr A C
Alderson retired at the end of June, as Manager of Mirfield branch, after
forty-three years' service and to mark the occasion he entertained some
thirty guests to light refreshments and sherry. He was presented with a
transistor radio by Mr A. Slater (Manager, Batley) who expressed the sincere
wish that Mr and Mrs Alderson would enjoy many years of good health and
happiness in their new home at Hampsthwaite in the Yorkshire Dales. Mr R.
Tanner (Manchester District Inspector) echoed these sentiments on behalf of
the District General Management and thanked Mr Alderson for his years of
loyal and devoted service to the Bank. In reply. Mr Alderson, who had earlier
lunched with Mr E. H. Priestley (District General Manager), spoke
appreciatively of his staff and of the help and guidance he had always
received from his colleagues. Mrs Alderson, whose absence from the Mirfield
scene will be sadly felt by a number of local committees and societies, was
presented with a shopping bag by Miss Jean Pollard and all the guests then
drank to the future health and happiness of their retiring colleague and his
wife. Mr Alderson entered the Equitable Bank in 1920, moving to Sowerby
Bridge in 1927 and Elland ten years later. He served four years with H.M.
Forces returning to Sowerby Bridge in 1946 and later that year moved to
Elland where he became Pro Manager the following year. His appointment as manager of Mirfield
branch came in 1949.
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