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  WELCOME to Martins Bank
Archive, and to MARTINS
BANK MAGAZINE -
our news feature in honour of the Bank’s staff publication, which from 1946
to 1969 brought news of changing times, new Branches and services and even
new technologies to those working in branches and departments in England
Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. From Drive-In Branches to
computers and the Cash Dispenser, it seems that Martins Bank has it all,
yet on 1 November 1968, it becomes just one more of the Barclays Group of
Companies. This status is maintained only until close of Business on Friday
12 December 1969, as from the following Monday, 730 branches of the bank
will open their doors under the name of Barclays.
ANOTHER year?
 That was
2024 then, and faced with the prospect of there now being just eight
branches of Martins Bank left still open, we have now extended our BRANCH WATCH feature to
include a list of those branches that were closed between 1968 and 2008, as
prequal to the page that already shows the closures made from 2009
onwards.
Just before
the deal was signed, and Martins became a member of the Barclays Group in
November 1968, Martins Bank had 748 branches. Easy maths therefore tells us that 740
have been lost from that point up to today.
We are still awaiting news on the fate of Cockermouth Branch, which
is scheduled to close at the end of January 2025, but it seems that a
suitable site for a banking hub to replace its services, is still to be
found. Barclays has itself slimmed down from having more than 5000 branches
in the 1960s, to around 200 today, quite a sobering thought.
NEW! Branches from A to Z
We have now
relaunched our BRANCHES A TO Z page, to enhance
your experience whilst browsing our portfolio of just over 1000 buildings! The new menus include, wherever possible,
images of branch buildings, to guide you as you search out branch pages
that take your fancy. More relevance has been placed on the origins of some
branches which came from among the many constituent Banks that at one time
or other were merged, taken over, or amalgamated into what became the
modern day Martins Bank. We are sure
you will enjoy your journey around Martins Bank’s Branches. Please note that the Branches by District
sections have now been removed from the web site. You will however, still
be able to visit individual District Offices and their departments.
Important News about the Martins Bank Staff
Database
 We would like to draw your attention to the completion of the first
major phase of the Martins Bank Staff Database. The career details of more than 25,000
member of the Staff of martins Bank Limited, have been put together from
the information published by Martins Bank in its magazine and other
publications, and this has been in the public domain for at least
fifty-five years. It is vital that surviving members of Martins Bank’s
staff have the opportunity to see the career details held for them, and to
understand about how and why the database exists as a social history
resource that seeks to preserve the name of Martins Bank for the interest
of future generations.
Please CLICK
HERE or on the image of
the NEWS RELEASE pictured (left) to
obtain this information, and if, once you have read it, you would like to receive
your career details, please do get in touch with the archive by email at
the following address: martinsbankarchive@btinternet.com. If you are the relative of a deceased
member of the staff and would like to obtain details of their career –
perhaps as part of family tree research, please contact Martins Bank
Archive at the same address.
Banking on trust…
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 Formed from the existing
trustee and investment business of Martins Bank, which dated back to 1908
when the Bank of Liverpool first opened a trustee department, Martins
Bank Trust Company Limited brought together a number of servies which had
been key earners for the bank in the various parts of the country where
there was either a Trustee Office, an Income Tax Department, or both.
By the late 1960s,
notwithstanding the search for another bank with with to merge, Martins
Bank aquired a number of smaller specialist companies as subsidiaries,
each of which specialised in financial services, that would enable the
Bank to spread its interests, provide a more comprehensive offering to
the customer AND
that
would profit the Bank, by retaining those customers might have gone
elsewhere for these services.
Thanks to the Denis Maxwell
Collection, our Archive now has insight into these companies, as well as
the merger processes that began as early as 1961 and continued on and off
until the merger with Barclays.
When you visit our TRUSTEE AND INVESTMENT SERVICES feature page, you will
now find more detailed information than we have previously offered for
the following:
·
Dillon Walker
& Co
·
Griffin Assurance
·
Martins
Unicorn
·
Martins Bank (Finance)
Limited
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Branch Closures – 2024/5
 The High Street Banks are
continuing to deplete their High Street presence at an alarming rate.
Several affecting Martins Bank Branches have already taken place in 2023,
and you can keep fully up to date
with developments, and see the full list of Martins Branch closures since
April 2007 by visiting our BRANCH
WATCH pages. The remaining branches have
continued to dwindle, and the few that are left can be viewed – along with
a brief history and the option to visit the branch page for each one – by
visiting our special feature page THE REMAINING BRANCHES. 09/02/2024 – Barclays Wealth took the
decision to CLOSE their branch at Castletown Isle of Man, but this
closure was not recorded on the Barclays web site. 15/03/2024 – Following
the RELOCATION in March of South Shields King
Street Branch from No 1 to Nos 64/66 King Street, another Martins
Branch was lost. Our “Branches Still Open” till stamp takes into account these
additional closures, and sadly this brings the number of original Martins
Branches still open into single figures for the first time..
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Martins Bank and Trade
Unions
 UPDATED! From humble beginnings in
1940, Martins Bank Staff Association went into competition with the
National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE), before eventually becoming a
trade union. In a new feature, we look at the origins of Martins Bank
Staff Association, its absorption into Barclays Staff Association and its
eventual journey into being part of UNISON, one of the UK’s largest trade union
organisations in the twenty-first century. We also profile the career of Mr W E
Gale, who achieved the role of General Secretary of the Staff Association
at Martins, and continued the role with Barclays following the merger of
the two banks in 1969. You can
visit our new page by clicking on the leaflet. We would also like to hear from Martins
Bank Staff who remember the staff association, and about whether they
joined, or became members of its “rival” NUBE. Whilst we have a number of Staff
Association related items in the Archive, there is currently only one
exhibit from NUBE – a book of discount shopping vouchers, given as an
incentive to its members. Please
do get in touch with your trade union memories at the usual address – martinsbankarchive@btinternet.com. We have updated Martins
Bank and the Trade Unions to include the story of how the Staff
Association emerges towards the end of the Second World War as a
negotiator of terms and conditions for the employees of the Bank. You can
also read about how the Easter Bank Holiday of 1944 was ruined for many
staff by of all things, the introduction of the Pay as You Earn (PAYE)
Income Tax system!
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I bought the Bank
(continued)…
 We are always delighted to
hear from friend of the Archive David Phelan, who featured on this site a
few years ago when he purchased the former Martins Bank Branch at
Grange-over-Sands following its permanent closure on 1 May 2019. He has
turned it not only into a beautiful and comfortable home, but has also
collected appropriate banking memorabilia with which to furnish and
decorate it.
David is of course very
interested in the history of the building, and always on the lookout for
period pictures. This lovely image (right) of the branch in its days as the
Bank of Liverpool Ltd, is one of those acquisitions, and we are always
grateful for David’s input to our own Archive. Many people down the years
have wondered if Grange-over-Sands branch was originally some kind of
chapel or even a church, but no, it was built this way as a bank.
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Images © Martins Bank Archive Collections – D T
Phelan
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Keeping a permanent
record
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1960s Image ©
Barclays Ref 0030-1693
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2000s Image © Martins Bank Archive
Collections
– ROBERT MONTGOMERY
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An unexpected result of the closure of former Martins Bank Branches
in recent years, has been the sight of the Bank’s original signage still
etched – sometimes faintly, others clear as day – in the stonework above
the door or window of a branch.
Friend of Martins Bank Archive, Robert Montgomery, has since 2009
been on a mission to photograph former branches of the big banks, that have
fallen on their sword in the name of progress. In the process he has accumulated many
images of former Martins Branches. We look forward to being able to add
these to our Branch Network pages over the coming months, but as a taster,
we are showing here a side-by-side comparison of LIVERPOOL WOOLTON Branch.
On the left you see the branch in the 1960s, and on the right,
looking almost as if time has stood still for sixty years, you can see how
the branch looked a couple of days after it was closed in June of this
year.
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Liverpool Childwall Five Ways – Closed
02/10/2015
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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GARY OWENS
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Liverpool Booker Avenue – Closed 19/02/2016
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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GARY OWENS
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South Shields Harton – Closed 10/05/2019
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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ROBIN LAWSON
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Buyer Beware…
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We have left the following article here once again for reference, to
help explain the position regarding the theft of copyrighted images for the
purposes of re-sale. There is a common misconception that if
you can Google an image, then it is “in the public domain” and you can do
what you want with it. Even some staff at eBay® believed this until they
were recently put right – if you
take or copy someone else’s work or property without their permission or
acknowledgement, and sell it on to
make even a penny out of it, this is breach of copyright, and the real
owner can take legal recourse to stop further theft and misuse of their
property. There are currently on eBay® a number of
listings of photographs for sale, showing scenes from the past and old
buildings including these four (and many more) Branches of Martins
Bank. These images originated on our
web site. As you can see, under our
agreement with the owner, we prominently display copyright. These images
have been copied and printed onto cheap photographic paper. The seller even
has the gall to add their own watermark to the displayed images to prevent
others from stealing them!!!
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STAINLAND
Image © Barclays
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SITTINGBOURNE
Image created by Martins Bank
Archive and © Barclays
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BURTON UPON TRENT
Image © Barclays
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WALLASEY
Image © Barclays
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As well as being
against copyright law, these items are worthless, having little more than
sentimental value – you will often find that collections and archives will
make images available free of charge for private use, but you MUST check
with them first. You should always check the seller’s right to copy the
image – reputable sites such as eBay® do now allow you to report copyright
infringement. For ANY item of memorabilia, the best thing to do is shop
around and compare prices – in the case of Martins Bank there are often
more than two hundred different items for sale on eBay® alone on any given
day. For printed material which
looks as if it has been copied, or actually claims to be a copy, ALWAYS
question the seller about copyright.
Best Regards, Jonathan.
Westmorland, Saturday 30TH November 2024
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WHILST MARTINS BANK
ARCHIVE HAS NO CONNECTION WITH THE DAY-TO-DAY TRADING ACTIVITIES OF THE
BARCLAYS GROUP OF COMPANIES,
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE CONTINUED GENEROUS GUIDANCE, ADVICE
AND SUPPORT OF BARCLAYS
GROUP ARCHIVES IN THE BUILDING AND SHAPING OF THIS ONLINE SOCIAL HISTORY.
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