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Opened in 1886 by Sir
Richard Biddulph Martin, Chislehurst Water Tower branch is both very
old, AND somewhat unusual. Despite
its name, banking transactions do not actually take place inside a water
tower – that would be silly! In
1922, the Bank of Liverpool and Martins opens a second branch in the town,
this time in Chislehurst High Street, and both Branches continue in service
until 1966, when the Water Tower Branch is Closed. The earlier history of our Bank’s
relationship with Chislehurst is told below by one of the Branch’s longest
serving Managers, Mr H Monk in a 1948 article for Martins
Bank Magazine…
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In service: 1886 until 1966
Branch
Images © Barclays Ref 0030-0645
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 The
name of Martin has for many years been associated with Chislehurst. In 1784 Mr. Richard Stone, a partner in
the Bank and father-in-law of Mr. James Martin, purchased an estate at
Chislehurst and from this date members of the family owned property here.
Mr. James Martin resided in Chislehurst for 53 years and upon his death in
1878 Sir Richard Biddulph Martin came to the house, Camden Close, where he
resided for many years. The original banking premises were built in 1860.
They are half-timbered and at one time were used as a hotel.
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There is a legend that
when the Emperor Napoleon and Empress Eugenie fled from France, the Empress
occupied the room on the extreme left of the Bank house. Eventually, Sir Richard Biddulph Martin decided to
purchase the property for banking purposes, and on 1st January 1886 the
branch was opened. The title of Water Tower branch comes from the fact that
immediately adjacent to the branch on the road, there is a very old
archway. This was originally designed to hold a water tank to give pressure
to the lower part of the district, and it is still inhabited, having
cottages in each of the supporting pillars. As
time went on, business developed and great changes took place in the
neighbourhood, the centre of business moving towards Chislehurst West. In
1936, new premises were opened there, the original ones being retained as a
sub-branch.
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