11-52-00 Belford

OUR SITE USES FRAMES TO ACHIEVE A NOSTALGIC LOOK – IF YOU CANNOT SEE A MENU TO THE LEFT OF THIS PAGE, PLEASE CLICK ON THE ‘HOME’ BUTTON ABOVE

Sep1

Belford was an original branch of the Alnwick and County Bank, taken over by the North Eastern Banking Company in 1875. The Branch is rebuilt between 1958 and 1959, but unlike many of Martins Bank’s knocked-down and reconstructed offices at that time, it doesn’t receive a visit from Martins Bank Magazine until a few years later, in 1965. Even then, this is part of the “A’s and B’s in Northumberland” feature, a kind of “whistlestop tour” where the most said about a particular branch fills around two or three lines of copy.

There is much about 1960s architecture at which with the luxury of hindsight we can shudder. Some of the best (or worst) examples of “before and after” can be seen by visiting two more of Martins’ own North Eastern Branches – HARTLEPOOL YORK ROAD and NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE WINGROVE.

Martins Bank Magazine visits Belford in the Summer of 1965, and gives its own (rather short) opinion on the transformation that has taken place…

We set off through 1965 03 MBM.jpg well-farmed countryside to Belford, where our rebuilt branch is a masterpiece of design and décor on an excellent site.

Farming predominates here, in the hunting country of Surtees, benevolent feudalism combining with the best of twentieth century ideas in agriculture to spell prosperity…

In Service: 1874 until 1958 - Rebuilt 1959 open until 7 April 2000

1960 Belford Exterior after rebuild TGG-PA.jpg

Belford Branch in 1958 – Before being rebuilt

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

… and in 1960: Afterwards – but looking perhaps just a little like a public convenience?

Image © Barclays Ref 0030-0152

	Thanks to our lovely friends at WARD PHILIPSON PHOTO MEMORIES, we are able to bring you a flavour of that “masterpiece of design and décor”. Since the invention of photography, banks have used professional photographers to take pictures of their branches. The Photo Memories Archive contains many of the images of Martins Bank’s North Eastern District Branches that were taken by the Bank’s official photographer for that part of the country. Here we have the impression of a great deal of space and light created for the customers and staff of the rebuilt Belford Branch…
Images - Martins Bank Archive Collections © WARD PHILIPSON PHOTO MEMORIES – John A Moreels M.B.E


A day to remember…

		At the start of the 1960s, the “Stamp Duty Paid” logo is changed to the simple circle and crown you see above. Prior to this, a more elaborate logo (left) was used which included the month and year in which the cheque was printed. Images - Martins Bank Archive Collections © BELFORD MUSEUM
In 1953, to commemorate the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Belford held a gala, with floats parading through the town. Our thanks go to Belford Museum for this wonderful image, which shows the Bank with the floats parading past it. From an upstairs window, two members of the staff can just be seen looking down onto the parade, and the bunting above their heads tied to the front of the Bank and draped round. We are also most grateful to Belford Museum for the image of a Belford Branch Cheque from the beginning of the 1960s…



Mr J C Potts Joined the Bank Here 1916	Mr J H Wedderburn Joined the Bank Here 1918	Mr R W Mackenzie On the Staff 1938 to 1939	Mr F D Ayton Manager 1949 to 1966



Mr R T Turnbull On the Staff 1951 to 1953	Miss M C Craigs On the Staff 1965	Miss S M Breckons On the Staff 1965	Mr J A Elliott On the Staff 1965



Mr R O Brunton Manager 1966 onwards