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  It is 1950,
and despite Martins Bank’s North Eastern District already being the largest
in the country, the Bank adds another branch to its Newcastle upon
Portfolio. Longbenton Branch is
situated at Four Lane Ends Benton, and is a self accounting sub branch to
Byker – the Clerk in Charge is an appointed Pro Manager, with limited
authority to act on behalf of the Manager, and the days work is processed at
the branch rather than being taken back to the main branch at the end of the
day. This allows Longbenton to open full
banking hours including Saturday Mornings.
Between 1968
and the end of 1969 all Branches will gradually withdraw Saturday opening,
initially operating a “late night” by staying open an extra hour on one
weekday. This is to give the Barclaycash network time to grow, as the Bank
places orders for hundred of new cash dispensers. Around thirteen years later, Barclays is
first to re-open its doors on Saturdays. After the merger of Martins and
Barclays, Longbenton Branch survives a further forty-eight years, being
closed permanently on 11 November 2016. As a Branch of Martins, and known
equally either as “Longbenton” or “Benton Four Lane Ends”, the Branch
undergoes extensive modernisation in 1967. The Bank’s 1960s modernisation
programme is huge, and despite enjoying unprecedented growth, the Bank begins
to feel the pinch as it tries to open newer bigger and better branches,
whilst repairing maintaining and modernising older one. Longbenton becomes
one of only a select few new or rebuilt branches to be given advertising
using by one of the many live animals that were photographed to be used in
campaigns around that time. Amongst
the menagerie were Percy the Wallaby, Penelope the Hippo, Socrates the Zebra,
Rufus the Elephant, and in this case Arnold the Sea lion with his frustrated
foil, a young businessman.
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