HOME

 

WELCOME

 

NEWS

 

BRANCHES

 

GRASSHOPPERS

 

LEWIS’S BANK

 

CONTACT US

 

SITE MENU

MARTINS BANK MAGAZINE

 

WELCOME to Martins Bank Archive, and to MARTINS BANK MAGAZINE - our news feature in honour of the Bank’s staff publication, which from 1946 to 1969 brought news of changing times, new Branches and services and even new technologies to those working in branches and departments in England Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. From Drive-In Branches to computers and the Cash Dispenser, it seems that Martins Bank has it all, yet on 1 November 1968, it becomes just one more of the Barclays Group of Companies. This status is maintained only until close of Business on Friday 12 December 1969, as from the following Monday, 730 branches of the bank will open their doors under the name of Barclays. 

Down to the final twelve branches?

Our front cover for March 2024 displays what are likely to be the final TWELVE original branches of Martins Bank left within the ever dwindling number of Barclays Branches that are still open.  From a one-time portfolio of more than 5000 branches and offices, there are estimated to be fewer than 200 Barclays outlets left in the UK.  That currently 10% of these are original Martins Bank branches seems a fitting tribute to the Bank that  “went to extremes to be helpful”.  Clockwise from top left, the final twelve branches are as follows: 

BEXLEY HEATH (seen in its original state before rebuild) CARLISLE 33 ENGLISH STREET, CASTLETOWN ISLE OF MAN, COCKERMOUTH, DEWSBURY MARKET PLACE, KENDAL 9 HIGHGATE, WORCESTER HIGH STREET, SOUTH SHIELDS KING STREET, RAMSEY ISLE OF MAN, PRESTON 38 FISHERGATE, LLANDUDNO, and KEIGHLEY. 

As 2024 unfolds, it will be interesting to see which Martins Branches might survive until the very end.  All bets are off, as even once mighty Northern offices such as Lancaster, Hexham, Rochdale, Blackburn, Skipton and Keighley are already scheduled for the chop. Our thoughts are with the staff and customers - past AND present  - of these offices, and the following is the most up to date information regarding branch closures.

Branch Closures – 2023/4

 11-60-40

Hexham

01/03/2024

 11-90-70

Skipton

07/03/2024

 11-48-50

Wallasey Liscard

24/03/2024

11-26-51

Kirkby Stephen

12/04/2024

11-80-60

Penrith

17/04/2024

11-19-70

Rochdale Yorkshire Street

18/04/2024

11-27-50

Lancaster

25/04/2024

11-12-80

Spalding

10/05/2024

11-81-00

Blackburn Darwen Street

10/05/2024

11-36-00

Bangor

10/05/2024

11-03-50

Keighley

09/08/2024

11-99-20

Cockermouth

17/01/2025

The High Street Banks are continuing to deplete their High Street presence at an alarming rate. Several affecting Martins Bank Branches have already taken place in 2023, and you can keep fully up to date with developments, and see the full list of Martins Branch closures since April 2007 by visiting our BRANCH WATCH pages. The remaining branches dwindled by the end of August 2023 to just twenty-three, and these can be viewed along with their history and the option to visit the feature page for each one, by visiting THE REMAINING BRANCHES.  One month into 2024, the axe is being wielded once more, and you can see here the next round of Martins Branch closures, taking us up to May 2024.  As – inevitably – more are announced  we’ll keep you posted here. One further closure has been scheduled for January 2025 – COCKERMOUTH. It might actually close any time between now and that date, as these longer scheduled closures normally relate to the establishment of a Banking hub in a particular area. When we know more about this one, we will bring you the details. 

I bought the Bank (continued)…

We are always delighted to hear from friend of the Archive David Phelan, who featured on this site a few years ago when he purchased the former Martins Bank Branch at Grange-over-Sands following its permanent closure on 1 May 2019. He has turned it not only into a beautiful and comfortable home, but has also collected appropriate banking memorabilia with which to furnish and decorate it. 

Sep 1.jpg

David is of course very interested in the history of the building, and always on the lookout for period pictures. This lovely image (right) of the branch in its days as the Bank of Liverpool Ltd, is one of those acquisitions, and we are always grateful for David’s input to our own Archive. Many people down the years have wondered if Grange-over-Sands branch was originally some kind of chapel or even a church, but no, it was built this way as a bank.

Images © Martins Bank Archive Collections – D T Phelan

Keeping a permanent record

1960s Image © Barclays Ref 0030-1693

2000s Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

– ROBERT MONTGOMERY

An unexpected result of the closure of former Martins Bank Branches in recent years, has been the sight of the Bank’s original signage still etched – sometimes faintly, others clear as day – in the stonework above the door or window of a branch.  Friend of Martins Bank Archive, Robert Montgomery, has since 2009 been on a mission to photograph former branches of the big banks, that have fallen on their sword in the name of progress.  In the process he has accumulated many images of former Martins Branches. We look forward to being able to add these to our Branch Network pages over the coming months, but as a taster, we are showing here a side-by-side comparison of LIVERPOOL WOOLTON Branch.  On the left you see the branch in the 1960s, and on the right, looking almost as if time has stood still for sixty years, you can see how the branch looked a couple of days after it was closed in June of this year.

Liverpool Childwall Five Ways – Closed 02/10/2015

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

 - GARY OWENS

Liverpool Booker Avenue – Closed 19/02/2016

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

 - GARY OWENS

South Shields Harton – Closed 10/05/2019

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

 - ROBIN LAWSON

Buyer Beware…

We have left the following article here once again for reference, to help explain the position regarding the theft of copyrighted images for the purposes of re-sale. There is a common misconception that if you can Google an image, then it is “in the public domain” and you can do what you want with it. Even some staff at eBay® believed this until they were recently put right – if you take or copy someone else’s work or property without their permission or acknowledgement, and sell it on to make even a penny out of it, this is breach of copyright, and the real owner can take legal recourse to stop further theft and misuse of their property. There are currently on eBay® a number of listings of photographs for sale, showing scenes from the past and old buildings including these four (and many more) Branches of Martins Bank.  These images originated on our web site.  As you can see, under our agreement with the owner, we prominently display copyright. These images have been copied and printed onto cheap photographic paper. The seller even has the gall to add their own watermark to the displayed images to prevent others from stealing them!!!

STAINLAND

Image © Barclays

SITTINGBOURNE

Image created by Martins Bank

Archive and © Barclays

BURTON UPON TRENT

Image © Barclays

WALLASEY

Image © Barclays

As well as being against copyright law, these items are worthless, having little more than sentimental value – you will often find that collections and archives will make images available free of charge for private use, but you MUST check with them first. You should always check the seller’s right to copy the image – reputable sites such as eBay® do now allow you to report copyright infringement. For ANY item of memorabilia, the best thing to do is shop around and compare prices – in the case of Martins Bank there are often more than two hundred different items for sale on eBay® alone on any given day.  For printed material which looks as if it has been copied, or actually claims to be a copy, ALWAYS question the seller about copyright.

Sep 1.jpg

 

Best Regards, Jonathan.

Westmorland, Thursday 29TH February 2024

WHILST MARTINS BANK ARCHIVE HAS NO CONNECTION WITH THE DAY-TO-DAY TRADING ACTIVITIES OF THE

BARCLAYS GROUP OF COMPANIES, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE CONTINUED GENEROUS GUIDANCE, ADVICE

AND SUPPORT OF BARCLAYS GROUP ARCHIVES IN THE BUILDING AND SHAPING OF THIS ONLINE SOCIAL HISTORY.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Sep 1.jpg                                                                                                                                             

Supported By

Sep 1.jpg