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 grimy
buildings, tall chimneys belching black smoke, nickering
orange flames of burning waste gases in the distance, grey skies, wet
pavements: this is the mental image conjured up by many people when the
industrial North East is mentioned. And on the January day of our visit to
Hartlepool that is just what we saw. There
are, however, compensations. The bracing wind off the North Sea blows the industrial
smoke away from the town, the streets are clean and litter-free, there are
no parking meters and few yellow lines.
 A big new shopping precinct is in course of construction and, best
of all, beautiful sandy beaches lie on the edge of the town. Two yacht
clubs offer water skiing and skin-diving, and though the sea is seldom warm
enough for bathing, the new atomic power station soon to be built will
raise the temperature of the water eight to ten degrees it is said. Add the
proposal to construct high grassy banks behind the shore to shut off the
view of the steelworks on the other side of the road, and Hartlepool will
become an ideal resort. At one time there were two separate boroughs - Hartlepool (known
as Old Hartlepool) and West Hartlepool - but in 1967 they were amalgamated
under the name of the older community. The Venerable Bede, who died in 732,
mentioned Hartlepool, then known as Hereteu, in the first-ever history of
the English.
All Saints Church,
Stranton, once set by a village green, now in the middle of the town, has
records going back to 1028. The manor of Stranton was sold to Sir Thomas
Gresham in 1562, the year before he founded his London banking business
which ultimately became Martins Bank. Looking
at a new publication Life in
Hartlepool we saw this quotation: 'I found more friendliness in
Hartlepool than anywhere else in the North East'.
We can't speak for the whole of the North East, as our
experience is rather limited, but we feel sure that if the authoress had
visited our branch in Church Street, she would have had no cause to alter
her opinion. From the
time we rang the front door bell we felt welcome. We were greeted by Alison
Eves, who ran round from the side entrance to offer us safe conduct past
the security screening and through the main office into Mr Jackson's room. Tony Jackson's career has been spent in
the North East and he was Manager at Millfield before his appointment at
Hartlepool eighteen months ago. He told us that as the branch has an
extensive connection with the shipping world, he quite often visits vessels
calling at the port, although they are not usually very large ones. He is
able to keep up his golf at the fine course nearby and continues his
interest in boys' clubs at the local branch of the Association and by
administrative work for the sea cadets. The latter interest is enthusiastically
shared by his Pro Manager, Alastair McLean, who was formerly in the
Merchant Navy and holds his chief officer's ticket. He hopes to take some
of the fifty boys to Denmark in their motor vessel when his appointment as
lieutenant is confirmed. In the meantime he is busy preparing to move to a
larger house and consequently is discovering the difficulties involved in
the installation of central heating.
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After Alison had provided
a good cup of strong coffee we moved out to meet the rest of the staff. We
stopped by the typewriter where Ann Carter promptly took us under her wing.
Had the magazine sponsored a beauty contest (as some of our competitors
have done) in our opinion Ann would have been a strong contender for the
title of Miss Martins Bank. She travels the ten miles from her home in
Easington every day in the Morris Oxford belonging to colleague Malcolm
Donaldson, who lives even further out at Seaham. He is busy studying for part
II of the bankers' exams, having passed part I in one year. He entered the
Bank in 1967 and after a junior and a cashier's course found himself almost
immediately on a securities course. He now helps with the securities work
and the not amount of foreign business. Looking after the machine
statements was Andrea Whitehead who joined the Bank straight from school
nearly eighteen months ago. She told us she plays badminton at the new
sports stadium at Billingham, where one can also swim, skate or fence. Andrea's
fellow machinist was Jill Brown, married last August and now settled into
her new bungalow. Jill is a sun-worshipper and in the summer seizes every
opportunity to go to the beach.
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As the WEST Hartlepool Branch of the Bank of
Liverpool and Martins Limited, ca 1920.
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A generic
advertisement for the Bank’s Annual Results at december 1932,
with reference to
the two Branches of Martins Bank in Hartlepool
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 The counter is run by Sylvia MacRae and Sue Tiplady. We had to
wait until the cash was balanced before we could chat to Sue, as she was
kept busy attending to the customers all day, which suits her very nicely,
thank you. A country girl at heart, her family came from Penrith some years
ago but they all visit tin-Lakes often at weekends as it is only a couple
of hours by car. Sue unfortunately was off with flu by the time the
photographer called at the branch and unable lo say cheese with the rest of
the staff. Sylvia, who
is first cashier, spends her Saturday afternoons at the rugby ground when
her husband, chosen twice to represent Durham County, is playing at home.
Sylvia is very knowledgeable about the game and says she doesn't notice the
cold as the excitement keeps her warm, even though she doesn't shout much.
Before leaving we looked round the office for
possible backgrounds to the staff photograph and noted with regret that the
most striking features are well above head level. The ceiling of the
manager's room is reminiscent of Wedgwood china—a similar blue with
white plaster ornamentation in an oval pattern—while in the main office the
colour is a dark olive green with the same white corbels. A glass dome
rises in the centre with plaster cherubs' heads and stained-glass panels in
an open fan shape decorating the walls at intervals. The staff claim this
is Mr Weatherill's favourite office, though maybe he is prejudiced,
Hartlepool being his birthplace. But
we could see why one little girl has been heard to exclaim: ‘Mummy, you
said we were going to the bank, not to church’…
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