11-96-70 Small Heath

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*The rise and fall of Martins* *Bank in Birmingham…* Martins Bank’s association with the City of Birmingham begins in 1935 with the establishment of Birmingham City Office at 98 Colmore Row. Birmingham Markets – which is later moved to Digbeth, and a sub Branch at Tyseley follow in 1936, although the latter is closed at the outbreak of World War II and does not re-open. In 1954 the Bank opens Five Ways Branch, which due to a reorganisation of the City is replaced by Edgbaston in 1964. Hockley Hill Branch opens in 1956. Small Heath follows in 1961, Holloway Circus in 1962 and King’s Heath in 1967, consolidating the position of Martins Bank in the City of Birmingham.	In Service: Thursday 28 September 1961 until 11 December 1970 Image © Barclays Ref: 0030-0244

The merger with Barclays spells the end for a significant number of Martins outlets in the Midlands and the South, and many of its Birmingham branches will be closed by the 1970s. Small Heath is originally scheduled to remain open after the merger, but is closed by the end of 1970, because of the sheer duplication of suitable Barclays Branches in the Birmingham area. Martins Bank’s Midland District is large, and a number of Branches are actually newer, better modernised or better positioned, than their Barclays counterparts. With the exception of Tyseley, all Birmingham City Branches of the Bank stand alone from the control of a parent branch, and each has a Manager in charge, and able to make decisions guided by the District Office at 98 Colmore Row. In November 2024, there was just one branch remaining from Martins Bank’s original Midland District – 54 High Street Worcester. That means none of the ten Birmingham Branches is open for banking. The West Brom building society did occupy 98 Colmore Row for some years, and still has an outlet for now at 21 High Street Wednesbury, another former branch of Martins Bank Advertisments similar to this one are placed in the local press at the time of the opening of the new Branch at Small Heath. Martins Bank Magazine does not visit Small Heath, but we do have a small number of staff images for our gallery below…		Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

In June 2015, Martins Bank staff and friend of the Archive Keith Mason, kindly took the contemporary photograph for us (below, right). At that time the building was being used once more as a bank: The Sonali Bank (UK) Ltd. When we checked again in July 2024, the Bank was still trading there as “Sonali Pay”, which has to be encouraging, at a time when most banks have shut up shop on Britain’s high streets!