11-75-30 Evesham

Appearances can deceive, and at Evesham Martins Bank’s Branch does so for a good reason: Having roots firmly – and predominantly - in the north of England, the Bank has to employ a few conjuring tricks in order to create the impression of security, stability and above all establishment - especially in the South.

Evesham Branch is opened in 1960, and as some parts of Martins Back date back nearly four hundred years, a lovely setting such as this mock Tudor building, might at first glance convince people that Martins has been in Evesham for much longer than it actually has!

The rapid expansion of the Midland and South Western Districts occupies much of the 1960s, with some newly built branches being handed over to Barclays whilst the paint is still wet, late into 1969.

In Service: 1960 until 16 November 1970

Evesham Exterior 1961 MBM-Au61P08

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

Martins Bank Magazine visits Evesham not long after its doors first open, and in the following article we meet the staff and learn something about what is referred to as “The problem of getting a new branch on to its feet”…

1961 03 MBM.jpg If we had to sum up our visit to Evesham branch on Monday, July 24th, in one word, that word would undoubtedly be 'refreshing'. The problem of getting a new branch on to its feet has always interested us and we always enquire closely into the particular technique favoured by the managers we meet in the course of these visits. When we visit these new branches in towns where our competitors have been established for years we are sometimes rather appalled at the task facing the manager of a new branch. We recall making this remark once to Mr. Tarn when he was Deputy Chief General Manager and we well remember his reply: "To me that would be a challenge". This is surely the right way to tackle the job and in Mr. R. L. Denison, who opened Evesham branch last year, we have a most enthusiastic and worthy exponent of this attitude. If the possibilities of getting business in a certain place appear to be limited, then cast the net wider, always believing, as he does obviously sincerely believe, that Martins Bank offers the best service. You can't be a successful salesman unless you believe in the product you are selling, and Mr. Denison believes that successful branch managership is the art of good salesmanship. A Manchester District man, he has all the friendliness, forthrightness and sincerity of the best type of Manchester business man and he has been known to refer to himself as the 'cloth cap banker', by which we imagine he means that he regards everyone as his potential customer.

His enthusiasm is infectious. He has obviously communicated it to his staff and he communicated it to us, too. We have good reason for thinking that his methods and his general approach are going to be proved right, and before long, too. Mr. Denison started his career in 1938 at Stalybridge. He went to Harpurhey in 1940 and then followed five years with H.M. Forces, 1941-46, after which he served at Miles Platting, Great Ancoats Street, Oldham, Werneth and Moss Side before his first appointment as Clerk in Charge at Littleborough in 1958. A footballer and a hockey player, Mr. Denison will also be remembered for his captaincy of the Manchester team for a number of years at the annual soccer match against the Liverpool District. He also played in the Manchester hockey team against Liverpool on a number of occasions.

Image © Barclays Ref 0030-0951

His second-in-command, A. C. Harris, we met when we visited Shrewsbury branch, where he started his career in 1953. He went to Midland District Office in 1957 and to Evesham when the branch was opened. R. K. Annis is a local product who came from Worcester branch where he began his career in 1959. Miss C. G. Simmonds also entered the Bank at Worcester in 1959. She is a local girl and is getting married in September. With regard to the branch itself, if something of the old-world appearance has been preserved in the exterior, the same cannot be said of the interior which is attractively modern in the way we have come to expect from the Bank's new branches. The office is very light and a laylight permits some of the staff to do their work in daylight. A large, airy, machine room is indicative of the expected shape of things to come. We were able to pay a brief visit to Mr. Denison's new house and to admire the work he and Mrs. Denison have done in laying out their garden, one end of which is apt to get flooded in winter from the nearby river. Then we had the pleasure of entertaining them to lunch at which Mr. Powell, Manager of Birmingham Trustee Department, joined us.