
The origins and growth
of Barclays are similar in many ways to those of Martins Bank. Whereas
Martins tends to dominate the North of England, Barclays’ heartland is the
South, the South East and East Anglia, with for example the business acumen
of the Norfolk Quakers and a large network of smaller local banks being
acquired or merging down the years, all contributing towards the World Class
Bank we see today. Barclays Group Archives is an amazing source of
information that is not simply about banking, but which can help researchers
to unlock the past and show us how we used to live. Whether you want to find
out more about Messrs Gillett and Company of Banbury and Oxford, how the Lynn
Bank was a major player in the local finances around the Wash and the Fens,
or how outposts in the north such as the Swaledale and Wensleydale Banking
Company came to be part of the Bank, Barclays Group Archives has a wealth of
images, artefacts and records going back hundreds of years. The Group
Archives website now allows visitors to view and download images and
information for their own private use, and includes an extensive collection
of Martins Bank Branch Photographs. You can visit the site, which will open
in a new window, by clicking on the “About the Archives” image above.

M
|