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That
Martins Bank has a presence in Penrith, and sub-Branches in so many
idyllic nearby towns and villages is down once more to the many banking
amalgamations that went to create the Martins Bank we know today.
At
one time, both The Carlisle and Cumberland Bank and The Bank of Liverpool had
their own branches in Penrith. Martins Branch itself is breathtaking, and
would fit the bill as any number of major buildings – museum, library,
council headquarters, even stately home.
We have a number of images of this fantastic building which feature in
the article below, describing Martins Bank Magazine’s visit to Penrith in the
Autumn of 1960.
Big on the outside, yet cramped
on the inside?
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In Service: 1894
until 17 April 2024
All Branch Images © Barclays Ref
0033-0446
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Looking back over the accounts we have written of our visits
to branches of the Bank, mostly the new ones, we find that on more than one
occasion we have commented on the problem which faces the Manager of a new
branch in trying to establish a business in a place where our competitors
have been firmly established and deeply entrenched for many years. He has a
staff of four: they have staffs of anything from twenty to a hundred. It was, therefore, very pleasant for a change to visit
a place in which our bank is pre-eminent and our visit to Penrith on July
20th was as interesting as it was exhilarating. The Bank of Liverpool established a branch in Penrith
and so did the Carlisle and Cumberland Banking Company. When the
amalgamation took place the two branches merged their business and moved
into the present office which was opened in 1913. It is quite a fine office
but the business has grown enormously and the accommodation is now
inadequate. Even so, some ingenuity has been brought to bear on the
problem. The old high desks have been abolished and the counter set back
another foot so that an extra till has been squeezed in. Six cashiers
stand, shoulder to shoulder, and on most days the attendance of customers
can be likened to an assault.
A machine room has been established upstairs and, somehow or
other, a little office has been carved out for the Assistant Manager, Mr.
S. L. Blamire. Upstairs, the use of space is equally ingenious, and
kitchen, rest room and cloakroom facilities have been created. The place is
a triumph of improvisation and a great credit to the Premises Manager,
whose biggest headache is not the building of new branches but the
modernisation of the old ones. There is
quite a lot of old panelling in the branch at Penrith and some fine carving
on the front of the counter. One or two of the inside doors are
ecclesiastical in appearance, while over the old stone fireplace the Latin
motto, carved in stone, "Quid
tuum offtcium res hodiernae" still causes speculation as to its
exact meaning. "Let your duty
be your daily concern" is the meaning attached to it by the
Reference Librarian of the Central Library, William Brown Street,
Liverpool. With a large staff it is almost
impossible to fix a date when everyone will be present.
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Penrith
Branch (left to right):
K A Chapelhow Miss E M Morland
J M Tinniswood J M Thorburn
Mrs A M Barnes J E Rawling Mrs B
L Bellas
G W Green (Messenger) G T Blair
E F Henderson Miss V J Walker
Mr J H Ritchie (Manager) J D H
Beck
Miss M I Lancaster
Mr S L Blamire (Assistant
Manager)
A Lowis Miss O M Hobley Mrs J
Wilson
The
following members of the staff were absent
when the
photograph was taken:
K Tomlinson Miss H Geer
Miss S M Bainbridge Miss M G
Morgan
and Miss R M Thompson
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Holidays and sickness create this problem and we did not have
the pleasure of meeting Miss H. Geer, who so ably responded to the toast of
"The Ladies" at the Northern District Annual Dinner two years
ago, Miss M. G. Morgan, who joined the staff in 1957, Miss R. M. Thompson,
one of the trainees, and Mr. K. Tomlinson, who entered the Bank in 1952. There is a great family flavour and tradition about Penrith
branch. Both the Manager, Mr. J. H. Ritchie, and the Accountant, Mr. G. T.
Blair, have sons in the Bank, Mr. Ritchie's son being at Appleby and Mr.
Blair's on the Liverpool District Relief Staff. Miss O. M. Hobley has a
brother at Carlisle and both Mr. J. D. H. Beck's father and uncle were in
the Bank. In the case of the Assistant Manager, Mr. S. L. Blamire, both his
father and grandfather were in the Bank; his grandfather being Agent at
Staveley and retiring at the age of 74. Miss V. J. Walker, who joined the
staff in 1957, is carrying on the tradition by getting herself engaged to
be married to Mr. J. Graham, of Keswick branch, a distinguished sportsman
and wearer of the football cap of two counties.
Mr. Ritchie we have known for a number of years and his
friendly personality has earned him high regard everywhere. He is an able
banker, too, and has devoted himself tirelessly to his work for the Bank,
and has become one of the best known personalities in the town as we can
confirm from the short walk we took with him through its streets. A serious
problem of delegation exists here because so many customers prefer to deal
with him personally, and a glance at his interview book reveals a somewhat
monotonous and frightening pattern, the interviews daily always being in
double figures, even on a Saturday morning. On one day we counted 26 and
never less than 11. He is President of the Cumberland and Westmorland and
Furness Centre of the Institute of Bankers, Treasurer of the local Rotary
Club and actively connected with all kinds of organisations.
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Images ©
Barclays Ref
0033-0446
Mr. Ritchie entered the
Bank in 1917 and served at Ulverston, Lancaster, Botchergate, Kendal, on
H.O. Inspection Staff and at Penrith before his first appointment as Pro
Manager at Penrith in 1934. He was
appointed Manager at Wigton in 1945 and at Penrith in 1950. Mr. S. L. Blamire, the Assistant Manager, entered the
Bank in 1937 and has served at Carnforth, Windermere, on H.O. Relief Staff
and in Branch Department, H.O., before being appointed Clerk-in-Charge at
Broughton-in-Furness in 1951. His present appointment dates from 1956. He
served as a Captain in the Border Regiment during the last war, in India
and Burma, being mentioned in despatches and also wounded in Burma. Mr. G. T. Blair, who was appointed Accountant in 1947,
entered the Bank in 1924, and has previously served at Botchergate and
Carlisle. He was in the Royal Navy during the last war, serving on Russian
convoys to Murmansk. Mr. E. F. Henderson,
the First Cashier, entered the Bank in 1918 and has previously served at
Alston, Dalton, Carlisle and Keighley. He was in the Royal Marines in the
last war, serving in North Africa and Italy.
The senior lady is Miss
Hobley, Mr. Ritchie's secretary, another of these precious jewels to be found
up and down the service, whose worth to the Bank is beyond price. She has
been at Penrith for 32 years and it is interesting to note that her service
at Penrith, added to that of Mr. Blair, 27 years, and that of Mr.
Henderson, 31 years, totals 90 years, surely a record. Mr. J. D. H. Beck is in charge of the sub branches at
Glenridding and the Penrith Auction Mart. He entered the Bank in 1956 and
his job seems to cause some slight envy amongst those who have to try to
stem the daily avalanche at the main office. Mr. A. Lowis, who joined the staff in 1955, plays amateur soccer for
Westmorland and Mr. K. A. Chapelhow, who only joined last year, has for his
father the Chairman of the local Urban District Council. On the day of our
visit he was basking in some reflected glory, for his father was at
Buckingham Palace attending a Royal garden party. Mr. J. E. Rawling, a banker since 1923 and at Penrith
since 1947, is, outside the Bank, greatly interested in church affairs.
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Mr. J. M. Tinniswood, who has been at Penrith for twenty
years, was a Major with the King's Own Scottish Borderers during the last
war, serving in North West Europe and being awarded the Military Cross. We were interested to hear about Miss S. M. Bainbridge
who has been at Penrith since 1957. She is a very fast shorthand typist and
when she came into the Bank she could do 200 words a minute. Several of the other girls we had met at the last
Northern Dinner. There was Mrs. J. Wilson, who entered the Bank in 1956;
Mrs. B. L, Bellas, 1953, and Mrs. A. M. Barnes, also 1953. Miss M. I.
Lancaster and Miss E. M. Morland are trainees, stationed at Penrith, also
Mr. J. M. Thorburn. We were very interested in some figures culled from the
records of the Mobile Branch Department. Mr. Ritchie can claim to hold the
record for the number of visitors attending one of our mobile branches at
an agricultural show; 471 in 1959 at the Penrith Agricultural Show.
In 1951 the attendance was 127, in 1956—221, 1957—341 and in 1958—369. Behind these
figures lies a story in which Mrs. Ritchie also has a part, of organisation
and hard work which always ensures a very successful visit. In fact,
throughout the years she has taken an active part in furthering the Bank's
interests, and, the attendance of our Mobile Branch at this event has now
come to be regarded as an essential part of the Show.
We who visit the Northern District have often commented that our managers
up there seem more relaxed, more able to enjoy life, than their colleagues
in the big cities. We reaffirm this
observation but in the case of Penrith we would observe that this state of
mind has nothing to do with the work which is as hard at Penrith as
anywhere we have been. We have a theory about this but we would digress to
go into it here. Suffice it to say that we need a constant supply of Dick
Ritchies in order to keep this Bank on top.
A long history…
Penrith
Branch goes back a long way, as illustrated by these two cheques from
Stephen Walker’s collection: The first is from February 1886, when Penrith
was a Branch of the Carlisle and Cumberland Bank. The more familiar Martins Bank design on
the right is from the 1930s…
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Images © Martins Bank Archive Collections
- Stephen Walker
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