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The new South Western District will
bring with it not only local decision making and therefore a better service
to local customers, there will also be the prospect of more local jobs and
promotion possibilities within what no-one yet knows will be last new
District of the Bank. One of the first tenants in Martins’ new four storey
building at 4 Boscawen Street is competitor Bank UDT! You can see the other
banks which were in local competition with Martins in Truro, towards the
bottom of this page. For the Bank’s
South Western District business will grow rapidly, and many new branches
will be opened before the merger with Barclays puts an end to it all, so
let’s stay in 1959 for a while, and join in with the spirit of this long
and optimistic report from Martins Bank Magazine, which heralds: -
  The visitor to Cornwall is quickly conscious
after leaving Plymouth of entering another world. There is a peacefulness about
this countryside which has a different quality from the peaceful-ness which
is always associated with the country.
The tempo of life is slower, the people seem more contented, the
rash of ribbon building has not defiled the roads, things seem largely as
they were. There is little to offend the eye, life seems more gracious and
the charm is enhanced by the knowledge that the sea is nowhere very far
away, and Nature has provided with almost prodigal liberality numerous
sandy beaches and picturesque coves. Time no longer seems so important; in
fact, in some ways time has stood still, yet here more than anywhere else
in England one is very conscious of the rolling on of Time. The men who are
asked to leave their native heaths in order to establish branches of the
Bank in places where the name of the Bank has hitherto been almost unknown
are to be envied rather than pitied.
It is an enrichment of life and
experience to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar and when the call
comes to go to an outpost like Truro the recipient is doubly fortunate.
Anyway, remote though it is, the branch has already been visited by the
Chief General Manager, the Chairman of the South Western Board and the
South Western District General Manager, so the feeling of isolation is not
as acute as in some more accessible places. The branch was opened early in
1959 and quickly attracted attention to itself. The architect, Mr. John
Crowther, whom we had the great pleasure of meeting, scored a notable
success with his design for the new building in that it was awarded a Class
I award by the Civic Trust for a new building in the County of Cornwall and
was prominently featured in the Architect
and Building News. It is quite an additional feather in his cap that
he has been given the job of designing the interior of Kendal branch which
is being reconstructed. Incidentally, although the various banks are all
well placed and are within sight of each other, there can be little doubt
about ours having the best place, right beside the City Hall. The modern
facade, of glass and Cornish stone, blends quite remarkably with the older
buildings in the street.
 So
far as the interior is concerned, readers are getting used to the lyrical
praise we bestow on our new branches and we are always conscious of the
grim smiles which our remarks evoke on the countenances of our colleagues
in the Manchester and North Eastern Districts especially, where the
modernisation programme can only operate a bit at a time. Nevertheless,
this branch is as good as anything we have done—tasteful, welcoming, dignified and
altogether a place of which both we and our customers are proud. The
heating is under-floor and the lighting is recessed in the ceiling, while
an unusual feature is the waiting room of elliptical design. The richness
of the dark veneer of Palisander and Zebrano used on the walls is most
satisfying, especially in the Manager's room where the illumination which
filters in through the excellent lay light sets the graining off to
advantage. A stroke of genius here which causes a picture
of the room to stay fixed in the memory, is a curtain, a veritable Jacob's
coat of many colours, which screens the glass panelling to one side of the
Manager's desk.
 We
are having a colour photograph taken of this room for use in a subsequent
issue. The final imaginative touch in this room is the use of Danish
furniture of the most modern design. On the customer's side of the counter
a further clever touch which offsets the beauty of the panelling is a wall
of Cornish Pelastine granite. But however beautiful a new branch may be it
is no use unless it makes its contribution to the Bank's progress and in
this respect it was interesting to inspect a map of the county on which is
marked the spread of the business. Suffice it to say that it was most
impressive and encouraging. The branch was opened by Mr. Malcolm Parkinson,
this being his first appointment. He entered the Bank in 1939 and all his
previous service has been performed in the Liverpool District, at St.
Luke's, Birkdale, Liverpool City Office, Ormskirk, on H.O. Relief and
finally in Liverpool District Office.
 During
the War he served in the R.A.F., training in the United States after an
initial visit to Canada. Then came a crash and after he had recovered from
his injuries he was grounded and from then on served as a radar officer in
France, Belgium and Germany after the Invasion. He and Mrs. Parkinson have
entered into the life of the district with keenness and enthusiasm and Mrs.
Parkinson's interest in playing her part in helping to make a success of
the new branch is most heartening to see. Mr. Ian Douglas, second in
command, is very well known up and down the service because of his tours of
duty with one of the Mobile Branches. He appears to have enjoyed this
experience so much that he has made his home in a caravan, and thinks that
this bachelor's solution to the problem of 'digs' is a very happy and
satisfactory one. Ian, too, has closely identified himself with the life
and amenities of the district, having joined a sailing club and built
himself a very fine boat.
 He
entered the Bank in the Craven District in 1941 and has served at Keighley,
Crosshills, Ilkley and at Liverpool City Office. He served during the War
from 1943 to 1947 and again in 1956 as a Forces Reservist during the Suez
Crisis. Mr. J. House is the junior clerk and the ladies are represented by Miss
D. Allen. Both are local products, Mr. House from Truro itself and Miss
Allen from St. Austell. Both have been with the branch from the opening
day.
After completing our visit to the branch we were
privileged to be invited to lunch at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson,
about two miles outside the city. They had to wait some months to find what
they wanted but it was certainly worth it. They have the best of both
worlds here, a most attractive house and garden, quite secluded, with a
view of fields and trees. Exactly one minute away is the main road and a
bus stop and you come from one to the other so suddenly as to make you
wonder whether you have been dreaming.
 After
lunch at which we were entertained by an attractive and personable young
lady of eight, we went for a drive round Mr. Parkinson's 'territory', to
St. Agnes and Falmouth and to some of the glorious little coves in which
the coast abounds. The highlight of the afternoon, however, was a visit to
a customer, Mr. J. A. Harman, who has created a holiday village out of a
wooded hillside in a little less than ten years. Using the materials on the
site, he has built, with the labour of his own hands, assisted by his
brother and two other helpers, a number of stone chalets. Now he is
building wooden ones. Each is equipped with an all-electric kitchen,
electric light, hot and cold water, modern flush sanitation, bunks with
Dunlopillo or interior spring mattresses, and all are fully furnished. The
chalets are six, four, three and two-berth. A lovely secluded bathing beach
is five minutes away and the place is an ideal touring centre for those who
want to vary seclusion with sightseeing. It is
called Little Orchard Village and it is close to
St. Agnes. The grounds are
beautifully laid out and work is going on with the
concreting of paths and the building of new chalets until about 45 have
been completed. In a different kind of way it reminded us of
Port Meirion, but as a monument to what the industry, enterprise
and vision of a handful of men can achieve out of almost nothing in a few
years it provided a most encouraging
and satisfying answer to anyone who thinks that the qualities which made our country what it is are no longer
present. With dinner at the Red
Lion in the evening a very full, instructive, inspiring and happy day ended our visit to Truro.
A New Build…
 The Architect and Building News publishes a four
page spread featuring Martins Bank’s new Branch at Truro, in March
1959. Everything from the ingenious circular
customer interview area to the staff room and toilets are either discussed
or pictured, and the article has a large number of planning drawings
showing how the various parts of the building go together, and detailing
the many and varied materials used in the construction and fitting out of
Truro Branch. The main text of the article is shown below, along with the
images that are not already shown elsewhere on this page…
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