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Known as “Friargate” or
“Market Street” or even “Friargate AND
Market Street”, this Branch of Martins Bank sits like so many others on the corner
of two thoroughfares – in this case in what is now one of the main shopping
areas of Preston. This was a favourite ploy of banks in the Nineteenth
Century – having one building with a presence in TWO streets at once. Preston’s large covered
market is just around the corner which suggests that Friargate Branch might
handle large amounts of cash. In Barclays’ time, the Branch is at first used
to offer banking services. This part of Preston undergoes pedestrianisation
and for the last few years of its life Friargate is a local training centre
for Barclays, as the upstairs rooms lend themselves well to a cheap
conversion into classrooms. |
In Service: 22 October 1923 until 1 February 1943 AND 23 July 1956
until 23 October 1991 Image © Barclays Ref 0030-2349 |
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By this time, the business
needs of ALL banks are changing almost
daily, and the doors of Preston Friargate and Market Street Branch are closed
forever in October 1991. Requisitioned
by the Ministry of Works… For the first eighteen years of its existence,
Friargate Branch has a reasonably quiet life.
The second World War however, changes all that, and the premises are
requisitioned by the Ministry of Works who initially want to use the whole building for the War
Effort. From that point on, the records of what went on at
Friargate are a little confusing, and we must thank our good friends at Barclays
for turning detective, and piecing it all together for us. The story involves the building being used
for storage only for fourteen years, followed by a revival when space at the
main Fishergate Branch is suddenly at a premium… {The
story isn’t entirely clear. Our Branch record card simply says ‘closed
1.2.43’, and the source for this must be the Secretary’s Branch notebook.
However, the Bank continued to use/retain it and this is confirmed by the
fact that the premises ledgers continue to record an unbroken series of
repairs and maintenance entries throughout the period up to its reopening as
a customer Branch in 1956. The Standing Committee minutes for 2.7.41 record that on
the departure of the manager, Thomas England, for his new appointment at
Bury, the Bank had decided not to reappoint at Friargate, and that the Branch
‘would become a receiving office under the management of L R Tomlinson of
Fishergate’. Not entirely sure what a receiving office is or was, but I
assume it was a support Branch to Fishergate, perhaps for storage of records
and other back-office purposes. However, the Committee subsequently recorded
on 14.9.42 that the Ministry of Works, which was intending to requisition the
whole building, had decided not to requisition the ground floor, and that as
a consequence the Branch would continue to operate). So I can only assume
that Friargate wasn’t in fact closed as a customer Branch until
1.2.43. This seems to be supported by Banker’s
Almanacs which show Friargate as still open in the 1941/42 edition,
closed in the 1948/49 edition, and open again in the 1956/57 edition. However, to complicate matters the
Committee recorded on 27.7.55 that, ‘this office was closed in 1941, existing
connections being transferred to Fishergate Branch where our premises are no
longer adequate for the expanding business. Furthermore, many customers would
find Friargate more convenient and it was strongly recommended that we reopen
the Branch as a sub-office to Fishergate. The premises are at present let at
a rental of Ł367 per annum to HM Customs and Excise and we would suggest that
they endeavour to give us possession in, say, six months time.’ The minutes
for 8.6.56 record that Friargate would reopen as a sub to Fishergate on
23.7.56 }. |
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Images Martins Bank
Archive Collections - © Lancashire Evening Post, courtesy Preston Digital
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