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Some of Martins Bank’s Burnley
Branches come from the amalgamation of
the Bank of Liverpool and the Craven Bank in 1906. The Craven Bankers comprised some of the
most respected and well to do figures of the 1800s, and notes issued by the
Craven Bank were seen as trustworthy for value.
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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In Service: 1884 until 30 May
1963
Image © Barclays Ref:
0030-0481
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Local business people would always
ask for the notes with the “coo” (the Craven Heifer) on them, because they
knew that payment of them would be honoured.
We are indebted to our friends at Barclays Leeds Region Pensioners’
Club, for this example of a Craven Banknote issued at Burnley in the late
1800s. 1963 sees the
closure of of two Burnley Branches, St James’ Street and 13 Hargreaves
Street. The business of both Branches is to be combined into the brand new
Branch at MANCHESTER ROAD
(on whose page you can see a more populated staff gallery section). Despite there having been a total of four
main and four sub-Branches at various times over the years, there is one
member of staff – Mr E Fielden – who has only ever worked for Martins in
Hargreaves Street, first at No 7 and then No 13. In 1960, it is time to wish
him a happy retirement…
  One of the best-known managers in the
North retired at the end of November when Ernest Fielden laid down his pen
after 44 years' service. He spent the whole of his banking life in Hargreaves
Street, Burnley, which he entered in 1915 when it was a Branch of the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, first at No. 7 and then at No. 13. He was
appointed Assistant Manager in 1938 and Manager in 1945. To mark the occasion of his retirement Mr. Fielden
invited his colleagues to a cocktail party at the Thorn Hotel, and 45 of them
assembled to say goodbye. Mr. Jobling and Mr. Weatherill, Mr. Fielden's
General Managerial colleagues, came from Liverpool, also Mr. Pickering, while
the London, Northern and Manchester Districts were all represented as well as
many Branches in the Craven District. Mr.
Jobling made the presentation on behalf of the subscribers of a portable typewriter,
and in his remarks made a special reference to Mr. Fielden's successful career.
Mr. Earnshaw, Mr. Fielden's successor, also spoke, mentioning his long
association with Mr. Fielden. Mr. Fielden is
having a house built at Moelfre, in Anglesey, and hopes to see many of his
old colleagues from time to time as soon as he and Mrs. Fielden have settled
in.
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 We are
grateful to Rex Watson, whose father Frank worked at 13 Hargreaves St, for
supplying this wonderful group photograph of the staff, taken in 1949. It was actually taken on a camera that
belonged to Frank, and some years later he anotated the names he could
remember on the reverse of the photo.
We would be delighted if anyone can help fill in the blanks, from
this key to the picture. A fair amount of progress has already been made,
although a lot of initials are missing from the surnames in the lists
below. Those staff whose names we DO know are now also featured in
the staff gallery below, but for several of them we still do not have any
initials/first names.
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Image © Martins
Bank Archive Collections - Frank Watson 1949
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1 Mr ( ? ) Heaton
2 Mr Frank Watson
3 Mr ( ? ) Perkins
4 Mr ( ? ) Harrison
5 Mr ( ? ) Boothman
6 ?
7 Mr R S Atkinson
8 Mr ( ? ) Halstead
9 Mr S Taylor Messenger
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10 ?
11 ?
12 ?
13 ?
14 Miss ( ? ) Dalton
15 Barbara Pilkington
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16 Miss ( ? ) Wadsworth
17 Mr Eric George Earnshaw
18 Mr Ernest L Fielden
19 Mr ( ? ) Clarke
20 Miss M Calvert
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If you can help fill in the gaps, please contact
us by clicking HERE .
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