11-29-20 Broughton in Furness

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It’s not often that we are able to accurately date one of Martins Bank’s older branches back to the time it was built or opened. In the case of the Bank’s Branch at Broughton in Furness, we can clearly see A.D.1895 carved in the stone above the front door, which is when the Bank of Liverpool, having two years earlier taken over the branches of the Kendal Bank, starts to add more in the area that will become known as the Northern District of Martins Bank.

This will provide branches and sub branches throughout the former counties of Cumberland and Westmorland.

In Service: 1895 until Friday 6 November 2015

Image © Barclays Ref 0033-0114

Not quite off the beaten track…

There is a road that winds its way forever towards Millom (or the end of the universe as it is sometimes known). Along the way are some of the oldest and most unchanged villages of the Furness Peninsula. It’s certainly fair to call it bleak, and that’s not at all a bad thing, but when all you want to do is to reach your destination quickly, that’s quite another matter as you must go where the road takes you, and be patient. Very VERY patient… If you choose to stop, there is nowhere finer than Broughton in Furness, which bristles with examples of mid to late Victoriana - not least Martins Bank’s Branch, with its fine stone portal and slate construction. The village square still looks serenely untouched by modern hand or architect, and you are welcomed by that feeling of life having slowed to a gentler pace.

Image © Barclays Ref 0030-0448

Image © Barclays Ref 0033-0114

The main image, at the top of the page and the smaller two here above, are from 1969 when the Furness Peninsula and a considerable amount of land around it, belong to Lancashire. It will be another five years before county boundaries are changed, and this part of Lancashire is lost forever on April Fool’s Day 1974, when it is swallowed by the newly created “Cumbria”. Broughton in Furness Branch is self remitting, which means that although it is a sub-Branch to Ulverston, it has its own sorting code number and deals with its own workload and processing. Broughton in Furness is open for business across the full hours of the six-day banking week.