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A tale of two Branches…
 What will
probably stand both as Martins Bank’s youngest and
shortest-lived branch, is located at Church Lane Eaton, Norwich. Having been purpose-built from scratch, the
branch has done much to build the business of Bank in Norwich – both in its
first incarnation as a temporary mobile banking unit, and now as a shiny new
building that will only have the name of Martins over the door for 207
days. For as long as it lasts, Eaton
becomes Martins’ FOURTH branch in Norwich, the heartland of its former
rival, Barclays…
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In Service: Monday 10 Jun 1968 until Friday 9 November 2018
Image
© Barclays Ref 0030-0908
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In
modern times, with social networking, and facts and figures available from a
multitude of sources, it is easy to forget the vital role newspapers still
play in making a permanent record of our social history. We were therefore thrilled to find that the
events at Eaton in 1968/9 were followed closely by East Anglia’s premier
newspaper, the Eastern Daily Press.
Our friends there have generously provided details and pictures from
two stories written at the time, and allowed us to reproduce them below…
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Friday 7th
June 1968
Mobile Bank
for Eaton
MARTINS
BANK are opening a mobile bank unit in church Lane Eaton on Monday, and it
will continue in business until the end of the year, when a permanent
office will have been constructed on the site. The mobile unit moved in yesterday. The
unit, contained within a 35-foot-long six-ton caravan which travelled from
Liverpool on Wednesday night will be open during normal business hours.
Telephone, water and electricity will all be supplied to the unit, which will
be the first bank serving the Eaton-Cringleford area. “Judging by the interest, it should be
very busy” said Mr E B Thorington, the Norwich manager. The unit, which was
built by Coventry Caravans of Newport Pagnall, cost £10,000 when purchased
about ten years ago, and has mainly been used in the Liverpool area.
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One of Martins Bank’s MOBILE BRANCH Caravans
Image © Martins Bank
Archive Collections
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It
contains both a banking hall and manager’s office and, apart from
accounting work which will be carried out at the bank’s branch in London Street,
Norwich, it will operate as a completely normal bank.
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Thursday 22nd May 1969
New Martins Bank branch
at Eaton replaces caravan
Directors
of Barclays Bank and Mr R D Beaumont, general manager of Martins Bank, were
among those present at a reception for the opening of a new sub-branch of
Martins Bank in Church Lane, Eaton, Norwich yesterday. Mr E B Thorington, manager of Martins
Bank London Street Norwich, said the new branch came under his control and
until it was built they had been using a caravan unit at Eaton. He
said “Practically all our business has come since we opened up here in
Eaton. It is used by a lot of our
customers in London Street who find it easier for parking”. Mr Thorington thought the site on which
the new sub-branch was built was once used by a Methodist chapel. The builders were W F Pointer & Sons
Ltd and the architects Chaplin and Farrant. At
the informal opening of the new sub-branch of Martins Bank Church Lane,
Eaton yesterday (see images above and below), the manager Mr E B Thorington
(right) is seen talking with Mr R Q Gurney (Chairman of Barclays Bank
Norwich) and the Vicar of Eaton, Canon R Hurd.
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Image © E D P / Archant
Norfolk 1969
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Image © E D P / Archant
Norfolk 1969
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Image © E D P / Archant
Norfolk 1969
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Mr
E B Thorington, (known as Basil) is Manager of Martins Bank’s Norwich
Branches. He gave us his memories of
the time that Eaton Branch was finished and handed over to his new bosses at
Barclays.
Getting on with the boss…
 PRENTON, Birkenhead
Branch was my first managerial appointment before taking over NORWICH
in
1965. The main branch at 59 London St also controlled the Cattle Market,
University and Eaton sub-branches, the latter we built in Eaton ahead of all
the other Banks and when the building was completed it was handed over to
Barclays, much to their delight!
Martins were thin on the ground in East Anglia, John Thorogood at KINGS LYNN and Ken Batten
at IPSWICH. We were looked
down upon by Barclays but still managed to increase staff numbers from 14 –
22 in 4½ years most of the new business coming from Barclays. At the Norfolk show it was suggested by a
newly arrived Local Director that we should combine our stands which we
did. He came from London and as
was the custom, gin and tonics were freely available. Mr Richard Gurney from
Norwich paid us a visit and when he saw the alcohol, being a Quaker, he
walked straight out. Nevertheless he was very kind to my staff and myself”.
Remember to use the Post
Code…
Around
the same time that Martins is making its final foray into Barclays’ heartland
of East Anglia, the GPO (General Post Office) is issung the first
experimental postal codes in the Norwich area. The post code for the new
Branch at Eaton is NOR 53D a format that
is dropped by the time post codes are introduced to the rest of the nation,
and changed to the more familiar abbreviation of postal town to a maximum of
TWO letters and one number, being followed by one number and two letters to
indicate the locality and building.
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