11-489 Wrekenton

The North Eastern Banking Company opens a sub-Branch at Wrekenton in 1910.

Extract from North Eastern Bank Annual Report for 1914 – © Barclays

Extract from Martins Bank Limited Annual Report and Accounts for 1940 – © Barclays

Four years later the Bank merges with the Bank of Liverpool and its branches begin their journey to becoming part of the Martins Bank we know from 1928 until the end of the 1960s. Wrekenton unfortunately doesn’t make it quite that far, a small cull of Martins outlets between 1956 and 1960 sees to that, with this little office bowing out in 1958. Wrekenton is about two miles south of Gateshead, and about a mile from its parent branch at Low Fell. It is interesting to note that there don’t seem to be photos of any of the branches that close at this time, so we live in hope that Martins filed them somewhere that is still to be discovered! Kelly’s Directory of Durham for 1914 spells Wreckenton with a C before the K, but the accepted and current use spelling has no C.