Martins Bank
Encyclopedia
Martins Bank Limited was a Liverpool
-based British finanical services company that was taken over by Barclays Bank in 1969. The company has its origins in the 16th century and was said to have been founded by Sir Thomas Gresham
, who began trading in Lombard Street under the sign of a grasshopper
. After the Second World War it was the first bank to enter into partnership with a major retailer, opening banking concessions inside branches of the Lewis's
department store chain.
, which had been founded in 1831 in Liverpool
, England
, and the name of the merged bank became the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Ltd. However, the name was shortened to Martins Bank Ltd in 1928. The change of name was at the insistence of the directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, whose former HQ at 43 Spring Gardens Manchester became Martins' Manchester District Office. By 1928, the bank had expanded to some 560 branches and had a logo featuring a grasshopper, which was the family crest of Sir Thomas Gresham
, and a liver bird
, the logo of the Bank of Liverpool. The combined coat of arms was duly registered by the College of Heralds. The heraldic description of the Coat of Arms is as follows: "Or, a Liver Bird (or Cormorant) Sable, holding in the beak a branch of Laver (or Seaweed) Vert, on a Chief of the third a Grasshopper of the first."
Between 1958 and 1967 Martins Bank owned and operated Lewis's Bank which had branches in each of the Lewis's
Department Stores (not to be confused with John Lewis) and also in Selfridges in London. Lewis's Bank was sold to Lloyds Bank in 1967 and lasted until at least the 1980s. The last Lewis's department store (in Liverpool) closed in May 2010.
A new headquarters building for Martins Bank Ltd was designed by the architect Herbert James Rowse
in the Classical Revival style and constructed in 1932 in Water Street, Liverpool.
http://www.ribapix.net/index.php?a=wordsearch&s=item&key=WczoxOToiSGVyYmVydCBKYW1lcyBSb3dzZSI7&pg=10
The bank was bought by Barclays Bank in 1969, when all of its seven hundred branches became branches of Barclays. Around 30 branches closed immediately, and ten were downgraded to sub-branches. Some, such as the sub-branch at Eaton, Norwich, Norfolk were brand new and handed over to Barclays on the day appointed by Act of Parliament for the merger of the two banks, 15 December 1969. The Martins grasshopper logo was retained for part of the combined business until the early 1980s, with "Martins Branch" and a small grasshopper appearing first on both statements and cheque books, later cheques only (see the Martins Bank Archive Project link below). Martins numbered among its customers a football pools company, a major airline and a world renowned shipping line. When these customers wanted to borrow large sums, Martins was known to have borrowed from other banks on a number of occasions to fulfil these requests. Even so, many who worked for the bank believed that Martins could have survived on its own, as at the time of takeover it was expanding its UK banking operation, and continuing a run of "firsts" which included:
Women were contractually obliged to leave the bank upon marriage, and as late as 1965, men were not allowed to get married until their salary reached a prescribed level. Many of Martins' forms, and some procedures, were retained or later adopted by Barclays as being more advanced than their own.
.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
-based British finanical services company that was taken over by Barclays Bank in 1969. The company has its origins in the 16th century and was said to have been founded by Sir Thomas Gresham
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...
, who began trading in Lombard Street under the sign of a grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
. After the Second World War it was the first bank to enter into partnership with a major retailer, opening banking concessions inside branches of the Lewis's
Lewis's
Lewis's was a large department store in Liverpool city centre. It was formerly the flagship of a chain of department stores under the Lewis's name, that operated from 1856 to 1991, when the company went into administration. Several stores in the chain were bought by the company Owen Owen and...
department store chain.
History
In 1918, the bank was acquired by the Bank of LiverpoolBank of Liverpool
The Bank of Liverpool was a financial institution founded in 1831 in Liverpool, England.In 1918, it acquired Martins Bank, and the name of the merged bank became the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Ltd...
, which had been founded in 1831 in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and the name of the merged bank became the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Ltd. However, the name was shortened to Martins Bank Ltd in 1928. The change of name was at the insistence of the directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, whose former HQ at 43 Spring Gardens Manchester became Martins' Manchester District Office. By 1928, the bank had expanded to some 560 branches and had a logo featuring a grasshopper, which was the family crest of Sir Thomas Gresham
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...
, and a liver bird
Liver bird
The Liver bird is the symbol of the city of Liverpool, England.-History:The earliest known use of a bird to represent the then-town of Liverpool was on its corporate seal, dating from the 1350s. The seal is now held by the British Museum. In 1668 the Earl of Derby gave the town council a mace...
, the logo of the Bank of Liverpool. The combined coat of arms was duly registered by the College of Heralds. The heraldic description of the Coat of Arms is as follows: "Or, a Liver Bird (or Cormorant) Sable, holding in the beak a branch of Laver (or Seaweed) Vert, on a Chief of the third a Grasshopper of the first."
Between 1958 and 1967 Martins Bank owned and operated Lewis's Bank which had branches in each of the Lewis's
Lewis's
Lewis's was a large department store in Liverpool city centre. It was formerly the flagship of a chain of department stores under the Lewis's name, that operated from 1856 to 1991, when the company went into administration. Several stores in the chain were bought by the company Owen Owen and...
Department Stores (not to be confused with John Lewis) and also in Selfridges in London. Lewis's Bank was sold to Lloyds Bank in 1967 and lasted until at least the 1980s. The last Lewis's department store (in Liverpool) closed in May 2010.
A new headquarters building for Martins Bank Ltd was designed by the architect Herbert James Rowse
Herbert James Rowse
Herbert James Rowse was a British architect, born in Crosby, Merseyside on the northern outskirts of Liverpool. He graduated from the Liverpool University School of Architecture in 1907 three years after the influential Professor Charles Reilly became Head of the School.Rowse was one of the ...
in the Classical Revival style and constructed in 1932 in Water Street, Liverpool.
http://www.ribapix.net/index.php?a=wordsearch&s=item&key=WczoxOToiSGVyYmVydCBKYW1lcyBSb3dzZSI7&pg=10
The bank was bought by Barclays Bank in 1969, when all of its seven hundred branches became branches of Barclays. Around 30 branches closed immediately, and ten were downgraded to sub-branches. Some, such as the sub-branch at Eaton, Norwich, Norfolk were brand new and handed over to Barclays on the day appointed by Act of Parliament for the merger of the two banks, 15 December 1969. The Martins grasshopper logo was retained for part of the combined business until the early 1980s, with "Martins Branch" and a small grasshopper appearing first on both statements and cheque books, later cheques only (see the Martins Bank Archive Project link below). Martins numbered among its customers a football pools company, a major airline and a world renowned shipping line. When these customers wanted to borrow large sums, Martins was known to have borrowed from other banks on a number of occasions to fulfil these requests. Even so, many who worked for the bank believed that Martins could have survived on its own, as at the time of takeover it was expanding its UK banking operation, and continuing a run of "firsts" which included:
- First in the north of England with a cash machine in 1967
- First with mobile banks to provide banking to remote areas
- First with a drive-through bank in Leicester in 1959 and Epsom in 1966
- First and only English bank to have a head office outside London
- First to recognise and embrace the swinging 60s in its advertising
- First to experiment with and then use a computer to operate current-account business
- First with a branch on the centre court at Wimbledon
Women were contractually obliged to leave the bank upon marriage, and as late as 1965, men were not allowed to get married until their salary reached a prescribed level. Many of Martins' forms, and some procedures, were retained or later adopted by Barclays as being more advanced than their own.
Archive Project
The Martins Bank Archive Project is collecting together as many images and items relating to Martins Bank as possible. The collection is accessible on line, with interested parties emailing requests for information or images, via the archive website. The archive will be kept complete, and eventually offered to a UK museum. The archive is a completely not-for-profit venture, concerned only with preserving the history of Martins Bank, its staff and artifacts.Liverpool office
The Liverpool office of Martins Bank is a Grade II* listed building designed by Herbert Rowse and opened in 1932. It has been described as Rowse's "masterpiece... and among the very best interwar classical buildings in the country." During the Second World War, the bulk of England's gold was moved to the bank's vault, the complete operation overseen by the Bank's Chief Inspector Donald Devonport Lynch (1893-1982). This was dramatised in the film The Bullion BoysThe Bullion Boys
The Bullion Boys is a film based on the true story of how Britain's gold reserve was secretly transferred to Liverpool at the start of the Second World War. It was produced by the BBC as part of their Screen One series and it won the 1994 Emmy Award for drama....
.