11-065 Belford 32 High Street Temporary Branch

OUR SITE USES FRAMES TO ACHIEVE A NOSTALGIC LOOK – IF YOU CANNOT SEE A MENU TO THE LEFT OF THIS PAGE, PLEASE CLICK ON THE ‘HOME’ BUTTON ABOVE

In June 1958, what looks like a couple of old terraced houses is bulldozed to make way for something altogether different. Like a cross between a public library and a public convenience(!) the newly built branch of Martins Bank occupies the same site as the old one.

This takes place a year or two ahead of the major rebuilding programme with which the Bank forges ahead to welcome in the 1960s.

As we explore the architecture Martins’ new branches throughout the 1960s we will encounter buildings which look far worse than the new Belford Office! Whilst Belford is being knocked down, and until it can rise again from the rubble, business is conducted from 32 Market Place for which, sadly, there are no images currently available…

In Service: June 1958 until Saturday 8 August 1959

Images © Martins Bank Archive Collections

Image © Barclays Ref 0030-0152

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

Customers are informed of what is really quite a major upheaval, with just a short paragraph (similar to the one shown here, left), in local newspapers – If you think that a branch can be knocked down and completely rebuilt from the ground upwards in just a month, think again - The “work” this advertisement refers to as being hopefully completed in a month’s time is by no means an optimistic forecast of a new branch – it refers simply to the length of time to be taken by the demolition work. The job of building the new office is of course a different matter, and that takes just over a year to complete. The temporary branch at 32 High Street closes its doors for the final time on Saturday 8 August 1959, and avertisements similar to that shown above (right) appear in local papers to guide customers back to the Market Place once more…