Grand Design
Martins’ Coat of Arms is not the product of ad-men offering some kind of subliminal sales message. It is the result of one of the more curious periods in the Bank’s history: Martins is absorbed in 1918 by the Bank of Liverpool, but following pressure from the directors of one of the other constituent banks – (the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank), the Bank of Liverpool and Martins has to shorten its name to Martins Bank in 1928. The name of Martins now lives on at the expense of that of the Bank of Liverpool. The coat of arms is deemed so important, that in the personalised welcome booklet given to all new staff, its history is explained in great detail on the very first page:
The Bank's Coat of Arms is a combination of the Liver Bird of Liverpool, which appears in the ancient Coat of Arms of the City, and Sir Thomas Gresham's famous Grasshopper, which is to be seen hanging outside the Bank's principal London Office at 68, Lombard Street. The Liver Bird represents the former Bank of Liverpool, the root of the Bank's family tree, which was founded in 1831 and, in 1918, absorbed the old private bank known as Martin's Bank Limited. This old private bank, with a great tradition in the City of London, had used the sign of the Grasshopper for many generations; indeed, according to tradition, this sign was displayed on the site of 68, Lombard Street as long ago as 1563. A number of other banks which were absorbed or acquired also had distinguishing symbols, but in 1928, when the name of the Bank was shortened from Bank of Liverpool and Martins Limited to Martins Bank Limited, it was decided to retain only the Liverpool and London symbols in the new Coat of Arms, which has been accepted by the College of Heralds. The heraldic description of the Coat of Arms is as follows : " Or, a Liver Bird (or Cormorant) Sable, holding in the beak a branch of Laver (or Seaweed) Vert, on a Chief of the third a Grasshopper of the first." The Coat of Arms is printed in its correct colours {on the cover of this booklet}. (ABOVE, LEFT) On the Bank's stationery it is printed in black and white, {the various dots and lines representing the colours, so that it is possible to "read" the colours by having knowledge of the printer's black and white interpretation which is, of course, standard.
There is, therefore, a great deal of history behind Martins iconic coat of arms, and of all the many mergers in Martins’ 400 year history, it is the union of the grasshopper and the liver bird that is deemed most important, and gives us Martins Head Office at No 4 Water street Liverpool, (only just over the road from the Headquarters of the Bank of Liverpool at No 7 Water St) rather than London. Martins is the only national bank to do this. (See also MARTINS’ FIRSTS) The coat of arms, often complete with commemoration of the two important dates in the history of the two banks, is also a feature of cheques and some other stationery items and publications until the end of Martins in 1969:
… well, almost…
Bye bye Birdie…			(…or Liverpool is airbrushed out)
It’s all a bit strange really, the tale of Martins Bank begins with the sign of the grasshopper, and ends with it too – inbetween it is joined by the liver bird. Together, they are a strong symbol of the Bank from 1928 onwards, its rapid expansion, and its mission to go to extremes to be helpful. It is however, almost as if the Liver Bird is off guard when the spread eagle of Barclays swoops down and only the grasshopper remians. And maybe she was asleep, as Martins’ corporate image drops her completely about the time of the merger talks.
x
The emblems that came and went: The Grasshopper and the Liver Bird in various incarnations, making way eventually for the Spread Eagle of Barclays.
Is it perhaps an embarrassment to suitors that Martins has been such a successful bank, but NOT based in London? Is a successful image of Liverpool too much? As we have seen, the very word “Liverpool” is a bone of contention as far back as the merger with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank. Our Liver Bird has one major advantage over all future brandings – Barclays included – as she is more often than not carved into the stonework of so many branches up and down the land, whether or not they nowadays fulfil a new role as wine bars betting shops or car spares outlets. Now that’s a REAL legacy…
© gut informiert! 2007 to date