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The Home Counties gain another Branch of Martins Bank in
1957 with the opening of an office in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon
Thames. The staff of five will be expected to take on the opposition, and
judging by the success of the Bank in the late 1950s, we expect it won’t have
been long before “going to extremes to be helpful” became a way of life in
this part of deepest Surrey.
Later we shall learn about the “ribbed asbestos” (OUCH!) and
other futuristic (but hopefully not so life threatening) innovations used in
the construction and finish of this new Branch, thanks to an article which
has been reproduced from the Architect and Building News, 1959.
Sadly the original print medium has aged to the point where
it is now quite difficult to obtain a reasonable, detailed scan, but here is
what is currently the only period image of the Branch exterior, and therefore
of historical importance. The branch spans from the double doors on the
right, across the three windows to the central pillar.
The interior images below come from Barclays’ own
collection of Martins Bank photographs, and shows round blotches on the front
of the counter – these are not a fault
in the photgraphic process – the counter
is fronted in “bird’s eye maple”, which along with the other features
of Kingston upon Thames Branch are described in a visit to the branch in 1958
by Martins Bank Magazine.
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In Service: July 1957
until 25 April 1986
 Image © Architect and Building News and
successors 9 December 1959
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Further down the page, note how the Staff group photo looks like a
police identity parade, thanks to the effect of the lined fencing behind!
 We paid our first visit to
our new branch at Kingston just over a year after it was opened for business. Often when on our
way to visit a new branch we wonder how different it will turn out to be
from all the others we have visited, what fresh things we can say about it
to try to conjure up for our readers a mental picture of it. Perhaps we had better start with the Manager on this
occasion, for Mr. E. Parkinson has a somewhat unusual background. A native of Barrow-in-Furness, he
commenced his business career in the offices of the Middlesbrough Education
Committee and after that had a spell with I.C.I. He then joined the staff
of Lloyds Bank, serving with them for fifteen years. After war service,
mainly in Burma and India, he decided to apply for a post advertised by the
British Mutual Bank. His application was successful, but six months
afterwards this bank was taken over by Martins Bank and as his job at
Ludgate Circus became redundant, he was transferred to Hanover Square as
Assistant Manager, where he remained until he got the chance of opening the
new branch at Kingston. Not many bank men can claim to have worked for
three banks.
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Image © Barclays Ref
0030/1507
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The branch itself is in the new characteristic modern style,
combining airiness, cheerful lighting and colour schemes with beauty in
fittings. The bird's eye maple woodwork on
the front of the counter attracts instant admiration, and impeccable good
taste has been observed throughout. Somewhat ingenious use of space has
been made in converting what could properly be described as a cubby hole
into a little waiting room, and the Manager's room, though small, is
adequate. The branch is situated
right opposite the impressive Guildhall. Kingston
is a most varied and interesting town, with a history going back a thousand
years, a reminder of which is enshrined in the Coronation Stone carefully
preserved on the green diagonally opposite our branch, a few yards from
which the photograph of the staff was taken. This is the traditional stone
said to have been used at the crowning of at least seven Saxon kings.
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The town grew up where it did because the River Thames was
fordable at that point, and the bridge which succeeded the ford played a
not unimportant part in the subsequent history of England, in 1452, 1472
and in 1554. Quite close to our branch are the two markets which,
considering the essential untidiness of the average market, are about the
best we have seen.
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Their picturesque appearance, each stall with a tiled roof of
a different hue, is ample compensation for the inconsequential chaos which
is inseparable from a market. Indeed, when mention is made that one of them
recently provided a satisfactory setting for a film company on location,
the attractiveness of their appearance needs no further stressing.
Cheek by jowl with this somewhat old-world atmosphere lie a
number of good shops, such as Liberty's of Regent Street, and the whole
town is ringed and honeycombed with light engineering industry of every
description.
There is the Hawker-Siddeley aircraft factory, the camera manufacturing
works of Micro Precision Products Ltd., an old-established tannery, a scent
manufacturing firm and, curiously enough, the largest winery in Europe,
covering seven acres and being one of the world's largest wine producers.
Image © Martins Bank
Archive Collections
There are two nearby trading estates and a bewildering variety
of industry flourishes, from stainless steel containers to cellulose
products.
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Branch Images © Barclays
Ref 0030/1507
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Because
of its situation and the absence of any nearby town quite like it, the
markets and shops attract a huge daily influx of people and the normal
population of 40,000 swells during the day to a quarter of a million. Then there is the river, lined with planned riverside
walks and gardens, very beautifully arranged and maintained. Most
Thames-side towns are attractive and Kingston has not been backward in
making its own stretch of the river as nice as possible. The present normal
staff of the branch is four, but at the time of our visit, there were five,
because of the presence of A. C. Fleming, a District Office trainee. The
second man is R. Moore who entered the Bank in 1938 and, apart from war
service, 1941-46, has been at Lombard Street until Kingston branch was
opened. R. N. Ibbotson was attending a
Domestic Training Course at the time of our visit and so he is not on the
photograph and we did not have the pleasure of meeting him.
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His place was being taken by A. S. Taylor of the District Office Relief Staff. The young lady who very efficiently represents the
female staff of the Bank is Miss J. Coxen. She entered the Bank at 68,
Lombard Street and after a short period of training,went to Kingston.
And if readers want to know what a left-handed
Grasshopper looks like there is one on the rectangular brass handle of the
left half of the front door. Another Grasshopper, facing the conventional
way, appears on the other handle and the two face each other head-on when the
doors are closed. Not the least of the
pleasures of the day was meeting Mrs. Parkinson at lunch. She takes a
lively and keen interest in the progress of the new branch and is obviously
very proud of it.
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This
is one of the very first cheques to be issued for use at Kingston upon
Thames
Branch, the stamp duty mark is dated July 1957.
Image
© Martins Bank Archive Collections
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“After
dark, the Bank must not look dull”…
Article and images © Architect and
Building News and successors 9 December 1959
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This project consisted of an office
building to be let, with the bank as tenant on the ground
floor. A lift was added at a later stage, and some modifications were made
to the design. The clients for the bank were anxious that after closing
hours it should not look too dull among the adjacent brightly lighted shops
and that the facade should not look too "flat". With these two
points in mind, the windows were carried up to the ceiling and the ceiling
itself was built up of ribbed asbestos in various planes, giving a
saw-tooth section.
Specially designed ranges of lights in brass were incorporated as an
integral part of the design. The ceiling thus became an attractive feature
as seen from outside. A canopy, finished underneath in
ceramic mosaic, was designed to give separation between the bank and the
offices above.
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The
Grasshopper is etched into the door handles
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A
marble stall-riser was made in facetted slabs and the entrance doors in
American black walnut, boldly moulded with specially designed brass pushes
with the firm's grasshopper engraved in black. When open, the doors form the side walls
to the entrance lobby. The front, including the hanging glass name board,
is illuminated by a cold cathode tube built into the back of the teak
fascia.
Interior Design
The interior consists of a banking
hall with accommodation for seven clerks and four cashiers, manager's room
and waiting room, office space, lavatories, etc. Decoration is intended to
strike a somewhat lighter note than is normally associated with banks. The
counter has no grille; the walls are panelled very simply in
wych
elm; there is comfortably arranged writing space; the
colours
are white (high ceiling), pale blue (low ceiling), grey and red (lino on floor), with a red leather writing
table.
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Ground Floor Plan
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First Floor Plan
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