11-36-20 Burnley Habergham

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Although Skipton is the hub of the Craven Bank, the “mini empire” of the district must surely be Burnley, with a scattering of Branches throughout the town and nearby. Two Branches in Hargreaves Street, sub-Branches at Brierfield, Colne Road and Habergham, and Duke Bar Branch which closes in 1931.

The importance of Burnley to Martins Bank is later demonstrated by the building of a new state-of-the-art Branch on the site of a former cinema at MANCHESTER ROAD in 1963. These atmospheric images are from 1937, and show Habergham sub-Branch in its heyday.

The white notice in the window is a little hard to read, but warns customers of the impending Bank Holiday, and concludes with the practical if somewhat blunt message: “CLOSED MONDAY NEXT”.

At this time Habergham is open fifteen hours each week including Saturday morning, although by 1969 this is reduced by half an hour on Saturdays. Sadly Habergham remains open for only ten months after the merger, closing in 1970.

In common with many of the larger and more industrial Northern towns and cities, Burnley’s collection of local Branches starts to diminish from the time of the Merger with Barclays.