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Mighty oaks from
little acorns grow…
Martins Bank’s Midland District  develops from the 1930s, right up to merger with
Barclays, and along the way some branches are opened and closed again, others
– of which Walsall is a case in point - grow from strength to strength. From our twenty-first century viewpoint of
preserving and nursing old buildings back to their former glory, the 1960s
has it dark moments – when the desire to modernise overtakes reason, and
architects are free to see how much “shock of the new” we can cope with.
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In Service:
14 July 1937 until 13 November 1989
Image © Barclays Ref
0030-3045
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 One sad example of this policy within Martins,
is their branch at WELLING Kent, whose
attractive little premises are torn down and replaced by something altogether
out of sorts. In the case of Walsall,
however, we will reserve judgement.
For one thing, the branch is altered and expanded - rather than
rebuilt – and the work takes place before the really psychedelic phase of
sixties architecture has really begun.
For another, the results are not quite so shocking as they might have
been.
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Image © Barclays Ref
0030/3045
We begin in 1937 with the traditional looking bank building
(left), of which the Martins Branch at this time takes up the bottom
right-hand corner. As business picks
up after the war, space is at a premium, for the Bank suddenly find itself
returning to those employee-rich times when most of the banking work is done
by people, rather than computers. Sometime around 1963, Martins takes over
the whole of the bottom part of the building, which is re-designed as shown
(right). The stonework is covered by wood panelling and black marble slabs
which have been favoured by Martins since the mid-1950s. The interior is fully moderised, and we are
fortunate enough to have images of several parts of the building, some from
before and some from after the modernisation:
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Branch Images © Barclays
Ref 0030-3045
Martins Bank Magazine only pays one – rather short - visit
to the new-style Walsall Branch in 1965, and makes reference to the space and
light of the new office.
 At
Walsall, 'The town of 100 trades', we had a pleasant surprise, finding a
bright, spacious, modernised office in what at first seems a beautiless
borough. In the Black Country a cloth cap may be a sign of wealth, two-car
families abound everywhere in the social scale, industry and money rank
before appearance and, we suspect, ahead of development if this involves a
large outlay for little return. Not that health, education and civic pride
are ignored; it is just that of all the things we use or export some part is
surely made in this area and in a competitive world their manufacture and
sale come first. Mr J. D. Grabham, a north-easterner, is the fourth of our
Walsall managers, his predecessors being Mr E. L. Corkish and Mr F. J.
Mitchell, both now in retirement, and Mr J. B. Brown now Manager at Victoria
Street, Liverpool. Again most of the staff are young, but we fully expected
this, and they are extremely cheerful.
As for the days
of the old style office, our second feature is the retirement in 1955
of Manager Mr E L Corkish, who has spent the last eighteen years of his long
career in charge at Walsall…
  At
the end of March Mr. E. L. Corkish retired after 40 years' service, the last
eighteen of which have been spent with great distinction as Manager of
Walsall branch. The occasion was marked
by the presentation of a portable typewriter which Mr. N. N. Jobling,
Midland District General Manager, handed over on behalf of the subscribers at
a little ceremony at the branch. Mr. R. J. Lees, Midland District
Superintendent of Branches, also spoke of Mr. Corkish's success in Walsall
and of his courage and unfailing cheerfulness. Mr. Renison, Manager at
Coventry; and Mr. Brayshaw, Manager at Wolverhampton, were among those
present. In the evening Mr. and Mrs. Corkish
gave a dinner party for the members of the Walsall staff, past and present,
and their wives. Miss Davies presented Mrs. Corkish with a bouquet on behalf
of the staff. Mr. Jobling and Mr. Lees were present and a toast was proposed
by Mr. Armitage, Assistant Manager at Walsall, in a most entertaining and
able speech. Mr. Corkish responded, and
referring to the happy time he had spent at Walsall and to the support he had
received from his staff, mentioned specially Mr. Arthur Storey who was his
second man in the early years of the branch. He also paid a graceful tribute
to Mrs. Corkish, the partner of his success at the branch. Mr. Renison, mentioning his 30 years' association with
Mr.Corkish, expressed thanks on behalf of all present for a very happy
evening. Mr. Corkish entered the Bank of
Liverpool in October, 1914 at Walton. He served with H.M. Forces from 1915 to
1917, being wounded in France. From 1917 until his appointment as Manager at
Walsall in 1937 he worked in Head Office.
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