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Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank

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It feels like treasure has been found, that we are able bring you some rare glimpses of 415 Lord Street Southport, each taken around 1933, which is only a year before this Branch was closed for good. As we shall see below, Martins had several branches in the Southport Area at this time.

These images seem to have been taken on almost exactly the same spot as each other. This is no coincidence, as we found out when Adrian Rawson, (whose grandmother and mother are the subjects of the beautiful coloured-in photo), contacted us having found this page of our Online Archive.  Adrian points out that it was likely to have been taken by a street photographer looking out for tourists who might like a souvenir. 

Adrian has carefully restored and colour-tinted an original monochrome image which serves as a precious memory of his family and he has kindly donated this digital copy to the Archive. The presence of several branches of Martins Bank in and about Southport is explained by the various constituent banks of Martins having branches in the town before the amalgamations that created the modern-day Martins Bank.

The Adelphi Bank, The Mercantile Bank, and The Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank all once had branches at Southport, and even at the time of the merger with Barclays in 1969, Martins has premises at six locations in and around the town.

These can be found in our Online Archive as follows: 365 LORD STREET, AINSDALE, BIRKDALE, EASTBANK STREET, HILLSIDE, and ST LUKES. 415 Lord Street Branch finds its way into Martins’ possession through the amalgamation, in 1928, of the Bank of Liverpool and Martins with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, creating the modern-day Martins Bank Limited.

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Our branch photo (above, centre) shows the exterior of 415 Lord Street in its days as a branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank. We are also delighted to have acquired the image above right, as it includes the Branch and shows what a busy shopping area Lord Street is in 1933, just a year before the branch closes.  With two branches only a few doors apart from each other, it makes sense for Martins to close one of them, with minimal disruption to customer service.

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Cheryl Farrell sent us this image (right) of her family out and about in Lord Street, also being captured for posterity by the street photographer.  Her grandparents - Tom and Alice are out shopping with Cheryl’s mother Mary, who is sitting in her pushchair, and looking very happy to be holding a very large ball. 

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Cheryl tells us that this image also fits the timeframe of the other two tourist photos, having been taken around 1933.  We are so pleased that the photographer decided that Martins Bank was a suitable setting for his studies of shoppers in Southport, as otherwise, we might not have any other clues as to how this branch looked in its Martins Bank days…

In Service: 1893 until 1934

A picture containing person, outdoor, walking, sidewalk

Description automatically generated

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections – Adrian Rawson

1922 Exterior as L and Y Bank WNT.jpg

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

- W N Townson Bequest

1933 Ladies walking outside branch MBA

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections

We are delighted that a photographer happened to be out and about in Southport’s Lord Street in the early 1930s, capturing ordinary people going about their ordinary lives.  Of the twelve adults visible in the three “tourist” photos, only four are not wearing a hat – no excuse for that, as just a little further down Lord Street was the emporium of Madame Forshaw, Milliner!

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Extract from Martins Bank Limited Annual Report and Accounts for 1931 – © Barclays

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Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections - Cheryl Farrell

 

 

1923 to 1929 Mr G H Grimshaw Pro Manager MBM-Sp47P32.jpg

Mr G H Grimshaw

Pro Manager

1923 to 1929

 

 

 

 

 

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Title:

Type:

Address:

Index Number and District:

Hours:

 

Telephone:

Services:

Manager:

11-748 Southport 415 Lord Street                       

Full Branch

415 Lord Street Southport Lancashire

038 Liverpool

Mon to Fri 1000-1500

Saturday 0900-1130

Southport 2530

Counter Only

Mr D Coomer

 

Southport 365 Lord Street

1893

3 January 1928

1934

Opened by The Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank

Martins Bank Limited

Closed

Southport Eastbank Street

M