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 The 1950s
sees the concerted Southwards expansion of Martins Bank with the addition
of some of its most modern branch buildings. The many banking mergers and amalgamations
that have taken place over more than one hundred years in the North of the
country have provided a stock of old and traditional branch buildings, and
by the late 1950s, many of these will need attention to keep them fit for
use.
Newspaper
Advertisement: Luton News and Bedford Chronicle 16 April 1954. Image © Northcliffe Media Limited Image
created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
Image reproduced with kind permission of
The British Newspaper Archive
In the South however, new “shop front” style branches are opened, and
occasionally a building of more substance, like this one at Luton, comes
along. The doors open for the first time in 1954. White stonework is a
favourite with Martins, especially when it can’t obtain the preferred
option of a corner aspect. Pillars are always a bonus, along with grand
windows with the bank’s name etched upon them. The overall effect in the
South of England is that a progressive
bank is “coming to a town near you, and soon”. This, coupled with Martins’
reputation for being fair and listening to its customers, causes the
opposition to sit up and take notice. Sadly, Barclays already has a Branch
in Luton, at 47 Park Street, and when the two Banks merge at the end of
1969, the Martins Branch is marked for closure. This is achieved early in
1970. Back in 1957, Martins Bank
Magazine goes to Luton to see how the branch is faring, and their article
starts by getting some of Luton’s percieved stereotypes out of the way…
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In Service: Thursday 22 April
1954 until Monday 19 January 1970
Image © Barclays Ref 0033/0353
Image © Barclays Ref 0033-0353
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  Straw
hats, Vauxhall motor cars, the Luton Girls' Choir, 'Luton Hoo—we set out for Luton on 22nd May with these four associated ideas about
Luton as a basis on which to build further impressions of the place. The town is very much bigger than we had
imagined and now numbers about 114,000 people, the majority of whom are
non-Lutonian. Architecturally it is an ugly town with only one building of
note, the Town Hall, built just before the war. This rather fine building dominates the
main street and there is the promise that within the next ten years some old
unsightly property in the centre will be pulled down.The hat-making industry,
no longer concerned with straw, does not obtrude on the public notice as do
the kilns in the Potteries or the carpet weaving factories in
Kidderminster. Though scattered
throughout the side streets of the town in every kind of likely and unlikely
building the very nature of the industry makes for unobtrusiveness and until
the location of these businesses is pointed out to one by a knowledgeable
person one does not realise the nature of the activity going on behind
blacked windows of converted buildings. So far as Vauxhall Motors
are concerned, one's attention is drawn to this vast factory outside the town
by the glitter of sunlight on glass and metal of the new cars parked in open
spaces all around the works. To no small extent the overgrowth of Luton is due
to Vauxhall Motors. The overgrowth is apparent in various ways. Hotel
accommodation is tight, the need for town planning is everywhere felt and the
expansion of residential building seems enormous in relation to the size of
the original town. Certain amenities normally associated with a town of this
size are lacking as yet: for example, the Luton Girls' Choir cannot perform
in its home town for lack of a suitable hall. Incidentally, the origin and
growth of this choir is a story in itself and is a wonderful example of what
can be achieved in standard of performance and esprit de corps by the energy and enthusiasm of one man. Much other
industry is concentrated in the area—English Electric, Electrolux—to mention only
two well known names, yet a few minutes outside and one is in lovely country
with the attraction of nearby places of
world-wide renown—Luton
Hoo, home of the Wernher family and of the South African diamond merchant who
married a Russian princess; Woburn Abbey, home of the Duke of Bedford, and
Whipsnade Zoo.
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Images © Barclays Ref 0033/0353
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Mr. K. F. Carlisle opened
the branch in April 1954 and in the short space of three years has built a most
thriving little business. Mr. Carlisle entered the Bank in 1929 in the old
Head Office, going to Breck Road the following year. In 1932 he went to the
Northern District in which he served for varying periods at Lancaster,
Grange over Sands and Kendal. In 1939 he went to London Foreign branch and
from 1941 to 1946 he served with H.M. Forces, returning to London Foreign.
In 1950 he was transferred to Lombard Street and served there until his
appointment to Luton. We first got to know him in connection with the
Cicala Players and were interested to read in a recent Luton paper that he
has maintained his active interest in the amateur theatrical world.
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His second-in-command is
Mr. F. C. Rouse whose entire service since his entry into the Bank in 1937
has been performed at branches in the London District—Lombard Street, District Office, Richmond,
Soho Square and Kingsway. Number three
is Mr. R. F. Gann, whose previous service includes Ludgate Circus and
Brighton. He entered the Bank in 1951. Miss
A. D. Solly represents the female staff. A Luton girl, Miss Solly entered
the Bank when the branch was opened, after previous business experience
with an insurance company. We were also pleased to meet Mr. S. H. Vogt, on relief
on the day of our visit. Mr. and
Mrs. Carlisle came to the station to meet us and after visiting the branch,
we were taken on a short tour of the town before lunch in order to allow of
our forming an opinion of the place.
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After lunch there was just
time for a visit to Luton Hoo to see the art collection and the famous
gardens.
We were interested to read the inscription
on a brass plate affixed to the stonework in front of the house which
states that in 1948 Sir Winston Churchill from that spot addressed a crowd
of 110,000 people assembled on the lawns in front of the house. Then home with Mr. and Mrs. Carlisle for tea and to
meet their two children. One of the main attractions of their pleasant home
is a river running at the bottom of their garden. To find such a secluded
and attractive feature in a suburban garden is as unusual as it is pleasing
and is fully appreciated by every member of the family, especially the
children.Mrs. Carlisle served with the W.A.A.F. during the war, spending
several years in Cairo and Palestine. We
were sorry to have to leave Luton with so many attractions still
unexplored, but we have promised ourselves a return visit at some future date.
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