Keighley
is one of the larger branches in the Craven District, and has been in charge
at one time or other of SEVEN sub branches.
Between the time of the amalgamation of the Craven Bank with the Bank of Liverpool in 1906, and the
creation of the modern-day Martins Bank Limited in 1928, branches exist at
Cross Hills, Denholme, Haworth, Oakworth, Oxenhope and Steeton, all of which
you can visit by choosing from the sub branch menu further down this page. We
are indebted to Julian Taylor a member of Martins Staff and a good friend of
the Archive, for some of the images of Keighley branch on this page.
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In Service
from 1840 until 9 August 2024
Image
© Barclays Ref 0030/1453
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The
image here (right) shows Keighley North Street, including local shops,
Martins Bank, and the Police Station, circa 1963. Further down this page,
you will see the building in TWO guises – as a branch of the Craven Bank,
and of Martins Bank. For our
Keighley features, we learn of the photographic prowess of staff member
Jean Race, and the election to the office of Mayor, of George Dale, who
also works at Keighley…
Branch
Image (right): Martins Bank Archive Collections – © Julian Taylor
In
the Picture
Jean
Race of Keighley Branch was introduced to a postal photography club by a fellow
photographer about four years ago, electing to join the general colour and
natural history circles which have about sixteen members each. She sends
her slides to the circle secretary who puts them in the appropriate box,
with details of weather conditions, time of day, type of film, aperture and
stop, and anything else of interest. The boxes of slides circulate once a
month, together with a notebook for each member to write as much as
possible, raising points or asking questions which the others may discuss
on receiving the box. She withdraws her slide and inserts another when the
box is returned with everyone’s comments.
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In
this way she gets to know everybody well and the hints and suggestions put
forward in the notebook prove helpful and interesting since few
photographers hold identical views on every subject. Arguments,
disagreements with club policy, adverse comments—sometimes strong
criticism—all are taken in good part and a very friendly spirit prevails.The natural history circle has a mixed membership
including a jeweller, farmer, housewife, secretary, doctor, radiologist,
lecturer and a retired business man. The farmer from Cheshire writes
interesting notes on wild life and submits excellent slides of birds and
small animals. The housewife has a
wonderful collection of wild flowers: the doctor specializes in close-ups
of insects and often includes pictures of wasps, beetles, caterpillars and
moths blown up to more than life size. Once a year there is a general
meeting and nature rambles are arranged in the spring, when it is amusing
to see photographers crawling along stalking butterflies, seeking a rare
wild flower, or even squelching in bog to take close-ups of grasses and
ferns.
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Jean
pays Ł1 a year subscription and says that
anyone owning a 35mm camera is eligible for membership. There is no minimum
standard but members should be able to produce a black and white
enlargement, mount their colour slides between glass, and ‘spot’ correctly.
As the boxes can be dealt with at home any person lacking time or
inclination to join a local camera club can still pursue their hobby.
sp1
It’s not often
we get the chance to feature a member of Martins Bank’s Branch Banking
Staff who not only loyally serves the Bank, but who also holds public
office. George W Dale is Chief
Cashier at Keighley by day, and Mayor of keighley at all other
times! His rise to fame is recalled
by our good friend Julian Taylor, who also took the photograph of George
from the Mayoral “Hall of Fame” in the Council Chamber of Keighley Town
Hall…
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Image:
Martins Bank Archive Collections – © Julian Taylor
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Seal
of Office
George W. Dale was Chief Cashier at Keighley Branch during the 1950’s &
1960’s. In his younger days he had been a very effective wicketkeeper (his
words!), in league cricket. Be that as it
may, it was always used as the reason for his creaking back & knees
which meant he could only supervise the humping of cash bags – a task for
which he enthusiastically employed we juniors.
In those days Tuesday was the day that surplus or old bank notes
were despatched to Head Office in Liverpool. This was done by post by way
of HVPs (High Value Packets) Each packet contained Ł5000. Carefully parcelled & sealed with
wax by the Chief Cashier.
George would
depart on foot to the Post Office, with one parcel under each arm,
accompanied by a junior male clerk. The duo would
leave the branch on the dot at 11.50 am to ensure the parcels could be
deposited with the Post Office in time for him to catch his bus home for
lunch. Most of the
town were aware of this routine but no attack was ever threatened.
George Dale
stood in the Keighley Borough Council elections in 1958 for the
Riddlesden Ward as a Conservative. During canvassing, posters surreptisciosly appeared on the staff
notice board “VOTE for DALE for CHEAPER ALE” (He did enjoy a pint) He was successful and served for some 5 years as a Councillor
before being elected Mayor of Keighley in 1963. Reports and pictures of his Mayor making ceremony covered most of
the front page of the weekly broadsheet The
Keighley News, and the
report of his acceptance speech included the
following tribute to his employers Martins Bank:-
Newspaper Image © The Keighley News
and successors 1963
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This
Bank belongs to…
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Our “then and now” features normally feature just two
photographs, comparing old with new and that’s it. Just occasionally, as throughout this
page, we are lucky to be able to compare several images of a Branch. Here, we see that sometimes, not even
carving your name in stone will guarantee your future. At Keighley Branch, the rare images below
show the name of the Craven Bank in the elaborate stonework at the top of
the building. Wind forward through a merger or two and the words “Martins
Bank” have replaced the original carvings.
A few more decades go by, and it becomes Barclays’ turn to run the
place, although they don’t go so far as to carve their name with pride, perhaps learning from their
predecessors that nothing lasts forever. To to bring things up to date, we have the superb
contemporary colour photograph of 77 North Street, still a bank, and still
open for now. Thanks as usual to Dave Baldwin and also to his long
suffering wife, who has endured many of his photographic expeditions on our
behalf! Dave’s attention to detail
is invaluable, as he always tries to capture the modern view from the same
aspect as the original…
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Image: Martins Bank Archive Collections – © Julian Taylor
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Image © Barclays Ref 0030-1453
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Image: Martins Bank Archive Collections – © Dave Baldwin
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