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 What a very pleasing Martins Bank’s new
branch at Newton Abbot is, when it opens in 1955. It is similar in style to
CAMBRIDGE BRANCH, and has that all important corner aspect, which is valuable
publicity for the business, as the Bank’s name appears in two streets at the
same time!
The South West of England, and adjacent parts of South
Wales represent the largest and most important area of growth for Martins at
this time; the sheer number of newly opened branches in these areas will lead
to the creation in 1960 of a South Western District, complete with a District
Office in Bristol.
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In Service: 1955 until 19
January 1973
Image © Barclays Ref 0033-0408
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Not too long after the Branch opens, Martins Bank Magazine
visits Newton Abbot and meets the staff.
Not many branches receive TWO visits, but the Magazine is in Newton
Abbot again in 1969, as the name of Martins is about to disappear from the
high street, and we have both articles below…
 In Newton Abbot we have a fine-looking
branch in honey-coloured stone on a corner site. It is double-fronted and is
fitted out to take a staff of nearly twenty. The branch is situated in
Courtenay Street, opposite the Wolborough Cross against which our staff were
photographed. This cross marks the beginning of the Stuart dynasty and it was
also here that the rector, John Reynell, read the first declaration of
William the Third, Prince of Orange, Glorious Defender of the Protestant
Religion and the Liberty of England. The Manager is Mr. D. E. Arkle, who has
been at Torquay since 1947 and a signing officer there since 1948. Prior to
that his service was given on Merseyside, apart from a spell in the Forces
1939-46. His second-in-command is Mr. C. E. Cross, another Liverpudlian who
commenced his service in 1943 and has spent all his time at Liverpool
District branches, apart from war service 1945-1948. Mr. Cross has closely
identified himself with the work of the Institute of Bankers and has recently
been elected Secretary of the Local Centre. The third member of the staff
is Miss S. J. Daw, an attractive and intelligent young lady of considerable
promise should she choose to make a career of banking. Before taking Mr. and Mrs.
Arkle out to dinner we called at their home for tea and spent an hour or so
with four uninhibited youngsters whose main pastime appeared to be trying to
split the atom! Mrs. Arkle earned and appreciated her night out!
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  You might trip over him. He is Humphrey, a
Yorkshire terrier and owner of a rubber mouse which, when lady customers call
to see the manager has to be hidden in a drawer in case of mistaken identity.
Sharing the manager's office with Humphrey is Mr Jack Owen. At home Mr Owen
also has a wire-haired terrier and, apart from dog-walking and gardening
activities, his spare time is taken up with golf. He has been secretary of
the South Western District Golfing Society for many years and regularly
attends all finals where he regales the company with his fund of stories. For
many years at Bath, where he progressed to Assistant Manager, he was
appointed Manager at Newton Abbot in 1965. He is pleased and proud to have
been chosen as the next captain of the Golf Club at Teignmouth, where he now
lives, after so short a membership.
Mr Eric
Thornhill, the second-in-command, is owned by a very superior animal, a pedigree
Siamese cat who sometimes answers to the name of Yim Kin. He has recently
moved, with the Thornhill family, to a 400-year-old cottage at Broadhempston
where there are lots of exciting nooks and crannies suitable for imaginary
mouse-hunts. Mr Thornhill's son, now at art school and hoping to become an
architect, is helping his father 'pull the place to pieces'. They have uncovered
the original oak beams, found a fireplace behind a cupboard and unearthed an
old well in a passage leading to the kitchen.
A family interest in folk-singing has led to Mr Thornhill's duties as
treasurer of the Torbay Folk Song Club—he says he doesn't sing himself—and he
is a council member of the Staff Association. Originally from the North East,
he came to Devon during the war and was at Paignton branch before coming to
Newton Abbot.
 Also a migrant
from Paignton, Ruth Krechler is a valuable Jill-of-all-trades who can turn
her hand to any job in the office. Primarily she does the typing and is now
well acquainted with the Barclays forms, introduced when the branch came
under Exeter Local Head Office control on March 10. Ruth is a North Devon
girl who moved from Barnstaple when she got married. She thinks the beaches
there are superior to those of the Torquay area but admits that there are
plenty of good places to exercise her husband's Alsatian dog, for whose
benefit she rushes home every lunch-time. Holidays are often spent in North
Devon but one day a visit to Austria, the home of her husband's ancestors, is
planned. No room for Alsatians in Richard Crighton's flat in Torquay: besides,
he is a motor-rally enthusiast, owner of a Hillman Imp, and a dedicated
motorist. Well, imagine driving from Scotland to Devon in one day, which is
what he did last year. His wife doesn't drive, but he supposes he will have
to teach her. So we warned him we'd heard of more divorces . . . But they haven't had their first
anniversary yet so perhaps it will be all right. Richard, who runs the No 1
till, came into banking in 1967 from the Meteorological Office and has taken
to cashiering like a duck to rain. He keeps his hand in at meteorology with
equipment set up at home and interprets the charts in the daily paper for the
rest of the staff. We caught Andrea Cawley machining statements before her
departure for a week's relief at Paignton.
She enjoys her varied duties at Newton Abbot and was hoping she
wouldn't be doing the same job all week. A local girl, Andrea has been at the
branch since 1965 and welcomes the opportunity to meet customers when taking
a till. Quite a number of foreigners find their way to the town during the
summer, she told us, but for herself she prefers the bright lights of
Torquay. Sue Pipe is another dog-walker: since her own dog died Mr Owen lets
her take Humphrey for a short stroll on occasions, but for a good leg-stretch
across the moors she accompanies her fiance and his large shaggy hound, which
she described as being closely related to an old English sheepdog. Being only
five miles from the beach yet within easy reach of wonderful walking country
makes Newton Abbot an attractive place to live, she thinks. She is studying
shorthand and typing at evening classes so she will be able to fill in at any
of the jobs in the office, though counter-work is likely to remain favourite. Going over to chat to Ann Wallis we interrupted her in
the throes of balancing the local clearing.
There are branches of all the big banks
in Newton Abbot, Barclays being the second largest, and Ann finds her future
colleagues there very friendly. She lives at
Kingsteignton, about a mile along the Exeter road, past the famous
racecourse. In addition to her stint to work and back Ann's evening entertainment
often means a return to Newton Abbot to join the activities at the youth
centre there. Another contented member of the staff to whom the variety of
the work appeals, she has been in the Bank since last July. And what of Newton Abbot itself? The busy
centre of a large agricultural area, predominantly it is a thriving market
town: cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry on Wednesdays, farm produce twice a
week. Newton was a new town some 750 years
ago, a small settlement called Nova Villa which came into the possession of
Torre Abbey and so became Newton Abbot. William of Orange passed through it
in 1688 on his way to Exeter to be acclaimed champion of the Protestant faith
before his accession to the throne. His first proclamation was read by the
rector of Wolborough from the stump of the old market cross in front of
Wolborough Tower, shown in our drawing. Mentioned in a high court action of
1350 as having been there 'from time immemorial', the tower has been the
natural place for celebrations of national and local events of importance and
has become Newton's trade mark. Our branch is right opposite. Situated at the head of the Teign estuary
which flows into the English Channel, Newton Abbot is an ideal centre for
visiting all the famous south Devon beauty spots such as Torquay, Paignton,
Brixham, Plymouth, Dartmoor and Exeter. Several beautiful parks abounded with
spring flowers and cherry trees in blossom when we saw them, but we didn't
try the heated open-air swimming pool, nor did we putt, play tennis, golf or
bowls. If you are interested in history, you
can inspect two old manor houses or an ancient church; or you can go fishing.
But if you go into Martins to cash a cheque and meet a small bundle of brown
hair, treat it with respect. It's probably Humphrey, part-owner of the
manager's office.
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