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 Period colour photographs of
Martins Bank’s Branches are few and far between, so to find that a small
number are reproduced within the pages of Martins Bank Magazine, is treasure
trove. This wonderful shot shows Bridgwater Branch at its newest,
having been taken not long after it opened in July 1962. Clean lines, a deep
red brick and an un-fussy frontage all make Bridgwater an attractive branch that
ought to have been good enough to last. However, the cruelty that accompanies
a merger where duplication of branches is concerned, affects many of Martins’
newest and brightest 1960s offices. Bridgwater makes it beyond the merger but
closes just ten years later in January 1972…
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In Service: 1 July
1962 until 7 January 1972
Image – Martins Bank Archive Collections
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  travelling home one evening we
mentioned to a neighbour who knows the West Country that we were shortly
visiting Bridgwater. It was, we gathered from him, 'a pleasant little place—a bit of a
backwater—used to be quite a port in the old days.' This and other remarks might have led
us to expect cider, yokels and jerseyed old men by the decaying quay but, we
thought, if such was the case would the Bank have opened a branch there as
recently as July 1st? It seemed unlikely. We found Bridgwater an attractive,
busy country town. The birthplace of Admiral Blake, it obtained a Borough
Charter in 1200 and can even claim a number of Roman relics but seems more
concerned with life to-day, in which light industry and agriculture
predominate. It is, however, worth mentioning that, while there are now two
bridges over the River Parrett, the town's name was originally Bridge of Walter from the time of
the Norman conquest when Walter of Douai became Lord of the Manor.
Our
branch is very well placed in High Street and both externally and internally
is a credit to the architect, the contractors and of course our own Premises
people. It has everything we have now come to expect in a new office and Mr
Magnus Henderson, our Manager, is naturally delighted with it as also are the
members of the staff. Mr Henderson
entered the service in 1943 at Amble branch and worked subsequently at a
number of branches in the North Eastern District. His long interest in
agriculture probably stems from the time he spent at Hexham with Mr Luke
Wanless. In 1955 he moved to Taunton, receiving signing authority there in
1960, and in the winter of 1959-60 attended the Domestic Training Scheme in
Liverpool. On meeting Mrs Henderson at
lunch time we were pleased to find that not only was she on the staff in the
northeast before her marriage but that her father, Mr T. A. Wedderburn,
former manager of Westgate branch, has taken a new lease of life at Taunton
where his garden constituted a showpiece in the summer.
 The Hendersons are looking forward to their forthcoming move to
Bridgwater and the Bank could have no better ambassadors. Mr R. A. C. Sleap, who belies his name as Mr Henderson's
deputy, was no stranger to us and will be remembered by rugby players in the
London and Liverpool Districts. A native of Hayle, Cornwall, he joined London
District as a late entrant at Baker Street in 1956, moving to Exeter in 1959
and coming to Bridgwater when the branch opened. The two girls at the branch, Miss C. M. Ingram and Miss
M. C. Winslade, who entered the service respectively in June and September
last year, both live within a few miles of the town and last winter faced the
hazards of snow and ice in travelling daily to Taunton branch. Miss Ingram is
at present engaged chiefly with typing and machining while Miss Winslade
takes a till and we liked their cheerful, friendly air which must make our
customers glad to be customers. It adds the final touch to one of our newest
and brightest outposts where people are glad to give of their best knowing that
they will have the maximum encouragement and help from their District
Office...
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Coming
soon...
 1962 sees these former shop
premises in Bridgwater’s High Street up for sale, and ready to become what
is shown on the sign below as a “NEW BANK and LETTABLE OFFICES”. The top
half of the new building will change quite markedly with the removal of
chimneys in favour of a flat roof.
The addition of a shiny new Martns Bank below, and these completely
revamped premises will surely enhance this part of Bridgwater for the next
ten years. Not quite so easy to read
are the details on the right of the sign, showing the address and phone
number of the Bank’s South Western District Office.
Image © Barclays Ref 0030/0381
We do not
have many faces in our staff gallery below, and if you can help with
memories of this or any of Martins 1000+ Branch Buildings, or the staff
that worked in them, please email us at the usual address –
martinsbankarchive@btinternet.com
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Image © Barclays Ref 0030/0381
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Batten
down the hatches - it’s Carnival Time!
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Image © Martins Bank Archive
Collections
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Image © Barclays Ref 0030/0381
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 Bridgwater Carnival, held on the Thursday nearest 5th November
each year, consists of a procession of floats and comic features stretching
for about 1⅓ miles. The town is closed to traffic for the occasion which
includes performances by comic gangs and an item called the 'Bridgwater
Squib' involving formation routines by teams carrying long poles with huge
squibs attached to the ends: the latter is, to quote one member of our
Bridgwater staff, 'quite a spectacle'. For the people of Bridgwater, Carnival
night starts at 6.30 p.m. and finishes around 1 a.m. providing an
opportunity for consuming vast quantities of 'Zummerzet Zider' and making
necessary the boarding up of every building in the town. Our branch, shown
in the photograph, takes every precaution to avoid broken windows, damaged
doors and 'writing on the wall'.
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