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The 1906 amalgamation
of the Craven Bank with the Bank of Liverpool brings a selection of branches
from one of the the most beautiful parts of God’s own County (that’s
Yorkshire, by the way). Whether or not
those feet walked upon this green and pleasant land, we are sure that the
delights of North Yorkshire are enhanced further by a string of nicely
appointed Branches of Martins Bank at conveniently spaced points along the
A65. Guiseley Branch itself starts out
as a fairly small affair, as this wonderful Francis Frith image (right)
shows.
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In Service: Pre 1906 until 12 April 2023
Image © 1955
Francis Frith Collection Reference: G122011 – under licence
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Image
© Martins Bank Archive Collections
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The original
building is sandwiched in the middle of a row of banks and shops in Oxford
Road, with the Midland Bank at one end, and the Yorkshire Penny Bank at the
other. However, as we shall see
below, with the 1960s re-think and redevelopment of Martins Bank’s Branch
Network, change is on its way for Guiseley. This
special part of Craven district will forever be home to a small yellow
bear, (see IN THE
LIMELIGHT) but there
is much more to Guiseley than Sooty himself, as some wonderful colour
images kindly provided to us by David Baxter show. You almost feel like
time travel is possible as this little piece of history comes to life…
Guiseley Branch is still open today (see “Then and Now” below), but even
though Barclays has for a change, chosen to return to a more traditional
look, we feel it will never top how the Branch looked in 1966, that famous
World Cup Year…
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Guiseley is one of a number
of branches across the north of
England to undergo a makeover in the early 1960s. Some are completely
rebuilt, others refurbished, and some redecorated. For Guiseley, a marbled
frontage, and at least twice as wide as it used to be! The Spring 1963
edition of Martins Bank Magazine provides a centre page spread of such
branches, with Guiseley’s new look interior shown off in colour. We have placed this image in the article
below, which is the Magazine’s only visit to Guiseley in 1950. Later, you can see David Baxter’s
wonderful colour image of the 1960s staff, whose faces have also been
separated out from the group shot and included in the staff gallery at the
bottom of the page.
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Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections -
David Baxter 1966
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 Our branch at Guiseley has quite a character of its own. For
one thing, every member of the staff is a native of the district; and for
another, it is the only branch we have so far come across where the counter
is not shut off from the office by a screen. Quite what the Inspectors do
when they make their periodic raids we don't know, but we ourselves would
feel inclined to relieve the pressure on space by retiring with the ledgers
and an adding machine to the nearby moorland. But I expect there's a clause
about that. “Bertie” himself, as he is affectionately called from Mr.
Verity downwards, has been managing Guiseley since 1931, his previous
service having been at Keighley, where he started in 1912, Bingley, Silsden
and Keighley again. He was Mr. Verity's second man at Silsden in 1926. He
is also a veteran of the First World War in which he served from 1916-1919
and is Treasurer of Guiseley Baptist Church and the Aireborough Savings
Committee.
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Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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F. Darnbrough entered
the service at Colne in 1917 and subsequently served at Ilkley and Otley
before going to Guiseley in 1930, where, apart from war service from 1942
to 1945, he has been ever since.
During the war he spent part of his time with the R.A.F. in South
Africa. He is quite a prominent
bridge player in the district and often wins the weekly contest.
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C. Preston is a
bank clerk who might have made a name for himself as a golfer. He has won
a great many trophies and has a handicap of 3. His wife is a golfer, too.
He came into the Bank in 1921 and has served at Bingley, Keighley,
Silsden and on H.O. Relief Staff before going to Guiseley in 1948. He
served with H.M. Forces during the last war for a year but was invalided
out. G. Vickers entered the Bank in 1948 at Otley and was transferred to
Guiseley the same year. He was about to go for his “medical” prior to
military service at the time of our visit and hopes to complete his
Bankers' exams while he is away. Miss
S. Crosby has only been in the Bank since May of last year but appears to
enjoy all the advantages which come as a result of being the only girl on
the staff. At any rate, she seemed to be very happy.
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Michael McMinn, Avril
Outtersides, Philip Tindall, Jane Brumfitt, Richard Gilbert Hoyle, Yvette
Servino
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
- David Baxter 1965
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Shortly after midday Mr. Kershaw took us to his home for
dinner, where we had the pleasure of meeting his wife and younger son.They
have a very pleasant home in a beautiful situation above the town and a few
minutes away there is a breath-taking moorland view. We went to see it
after dinner, but it wasn't the view which took our breath away but the
blast of icy wind blowing up from Otley. Still, on a nice day it would have
been perfect. We enjoyed
our visit very much and the warmth of our reception was ample recompense
for the wintry conditions without.
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… and finally, Guiseley Branch first in 1966, then in 2013,
and some significant but sympathetic alterations have been made to the
façade of the building in the intervening years. Customers now obtain
instant cash through what used to be the front door!
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Image © Barclays Ref 0030/1142
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Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
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