|
Bacup is an
original branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank and is not alone in
having a church-like appearance – many outlets inherited by Martins Bank are
built on a grand scale, even the sub-Branches. This harks back to the days when a bank was
a place to feel in awe, as well as somewhere that needed to look safe and
secure.
Bacup is,
alphabetically at least, first on the list of closures scheduled by the 1969
merger with Barclays, and remains open as Martins Bank until 16 February
1970. The following visit by Martins Bank Magazine to Bacup in 1951 sadly
omits a listing of names from the group photograph.
|
In Service: February 1876 until 16 February 1970
Image © Barclays c.1950
|
|
However, we
have identified as many as we can, and put them into our staff gallery at the
end of this page. The image of Bacup shown below dates from 1922, Bacup’s
Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank days, and is courtesy of the W N Townson
Bequest.
 We had
to visit Rossendale to be told of the origin of the carpet slipper. This is
where felt is made, as many of our readers know, and to prevent the heels of
their footwear from making impressions in the felt when it was necessary for
them to clamber over the bales the workers used to bind strips of it round
their shoes. It was not long before they discovered that it kept their feet
warm and then one man devised a felt shoe. This was all right except that it
wore through quickly and so a means was invented of fixing a sole and so
comfortable was the resulting shoe that the man-made pairs for his family.
From this small beginning grew the slipper industry which today is one of the
characteristic occupations of the Valley. Bacup is at the head of the Valley
and as it takes rather a long time to reach it by train Manchester District
Office arranged for us to go by car, with Mr. Southworth to guide us on this
occasion, January 25th. Mr. H. Maden has been
Manager of our branch there since August 1946 and his previous service has
all been spent in the district, at Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall. He
served with H.M. Forces from 1942 to. 1945. His daughter Barbara is on the
staff of our St. James' Street branch, Burnley.
|
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections
|
|
 The
branch itself is somewhat ecclesiastical in appearance, with pointed windows,
alcoves and niches, and if Mr. Maden had received us in his little office in clerical
garb it would not have seemed at all out of place, so strongly is his little
sanctum reminiscent of a vestry. Our conversation with Mr. F. Rudman was somewhat scrappy
owing to the demands of the counter. He is a veteran of the 1914-18 War and
nearly all his service has been spent in the Valley. S. Walker was ill on the day of our visit and so we
missed seeing him. He served in the Navy during the last War and has spent
his time since his entry into the Bank in 1925 in Todmorden, Hebden Bridge,
Rochdale and Burnley, going to Bacup last year. We were delighted to meet two members of our 1949 Swiss
Tour in Miss E. M. Law and Miss K. Hallsworth and seized the opportunity to
have a very pleasant talk about that very happy time. Miss Law, who acted as
Clerk-in-Charge of our Stacksteads branch during the war, has already had her
photograph in the Magazine in that connection. She has been with us since
1933: Miss Hallsworth since 1941.
|
