11-40-30 Bradford Duckworth Lane

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Equitable Bank

Bradford is an important centre for Martins Bank Limited, not just after its creation in 1928, but also earlier - for the Bank of Liverpool and Martins. Branches have been contributed to the portfolio, both from the short-lived Halifax District, which becomes Leeds District in 1928, and from the original branches of the Craven Bank. The Halifax Equitable Bank merges with the Bank of Liverpool and Martins in 1928, and has already committed to a new Branch in Bradford’s Duckworth Lane. Arrangements are made to etch details of both the Equitable Bank AND the newly created Martins Bank, onto the bottom pane of the main front window, and the new branch is opened at the beginning of November 1927. On 3 January 1928, the new Martins Bank Limited begins life with an extensive network of Branches in Bradford. Allowing for a couple of closures, five of these Branches plus a new sub-Branch at Bradford University remain in service up to the 1969 merger with Barclays. Duckworth Lane begins life as a sub-Branch to 17 Sunbridge Road, then to 4 Tyrrel Street, becoming a full Branch after the Second World War.

In Service: Tuesday 1 November 1927 until Friday 11 December 2015

Image © Barclays Ref: 0030-0350

Four Centuries Cover Four Centuries of Banking Vol II” (Martins Bank Limited 1968) explains the background of the Equitable Bank, including changing its name and status from a Building Society to a Bank, an extremely popular Share Issue, and a list of Branches that are transferred to Martins, as follows:

{An important extension of the business of Martins Bank was achieved in 1927 as a result of the absorption of the Halifax Equitable Bank. The Halifax Equitable Building Society was founded in 1871. In 1899 the Board decided to establish a bank: accounts were being lost almost every week because customers were not issued with cheque books.

Extract from Martins Bank Limited Annual Report and Accounts for 1928 © Barclays

The Halifax Equitable Bank Limited.jpg Only 2,000 shares of £1 each were to be issued for the Bank. Applications were ten times as great and the number of shares actually issued was 2,395.According to the regulations, no overdrafts were to be permitted, and cheque books were only to be issued to those with a minimum account of £50. The name of the Bank was changed to the Equitable Bank Limited in 1913.

1960 s Bradford Duckwoth Lane Equitable Bank Window Sign BGA Ref 30-350.jpg On its acquisition in 1927 by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Limited, it had sixteen full branches and eight sub-branches—mostly in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The Head Office of the Bank was at Halifax and there were branches in Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bradford Clayton, Bradford Duckworth Lane, Bradford Great Horton, Brighouse, Bristol, Buxton, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Elland, Grimsby, Harrogate, Haworth, Huddersfield, Hull, Keighley, King Cross, Leeds, Milnsbridge, Morecambe, Ovenden, Ripponden, Sheffield, Sowerby Bridge, Stainland and Wakefield.}

Adapted from FOUR CENTURIES OF BANKING Vol I © Martins Bank Ltd 1963

For our “then and a little bit later” comparison, we see that by 1970, quite a lot of the elegance of Duckworth Lane branch has gone. Barclays needed a solution to covering up Martins Branding, much of which had etched itself into the stonework of many branch buildings. The result was a long blue plastic cover with Barclays Bank at one end and the name of the branch in much smaller letters at the other. Many of these signs were also capable of being illuminated at night.