11-73-00 Southport Hillside

Southport is home to a large number of Martins Branches, due to the various banks who originally traded in the area finding their way in the ownership of Martins Bank through amalgamation. Amongst them – the Adelphi Bank, Bank of Liverpool, and Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank. Hillside is originally opened in 1926 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, in this familiar arrangement that says half-house, half shop. During the Second World War, Hillside is amongst many of Martins Bank’s sub-Branches to be mothballed – that is to say they are closed for the duration of the war, and re-opened, most of them in 1946. Under the ownership of Martins Bank, this sub-Branch is self accounting until 1957, when it is downgraded to a sub branch controlled by Southport Birkdale. Some slightly larger offices, and some in areas where having a bank open is important for the wartime economy, are run by women clerks in charge, many of whom are in effect working as Bank Managers. In the 1960s Hillside closes for lunch to allow a break for what is likely to be a staff of only one plus a guard. Unusual hours including breaks are fairly common in areas where the Bank operates a number of sub-Branches. That Southport Hillside is open for five days a week does however imply a reasonably brisk trade, and when Barclays takes over, Hillside is deemed useful enough to be kept open for a further eight years.