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A tale of two Branches…
 What will probably stand both as Martins Bank’s youngest and shortest-lived branch, is
located at Church Lane Eaton, Norwich.
Having been purpose-built from scratch, the branch has done much to
build the business of Bank in Norwich – both in its first incarnation as a
temporary mobile banking unit, and now as a shiny new building which, sadly,
will only have the name of Martins Bank over the door for two hundred and
seven days. For as long as it lasts,
Eaton becomes Martins’ FOURTH branch in Norwich, the heartland of its former rival, Barclays…
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This buiding in Service: Monday 10 Jun 1968 until Friday 9 November 2018
Image © Barclays Ref 0030-0908
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In modern times, with social networking, and facts
and figures available from a multitude of sources, it is easy to forget the
vital role newspapers still play in making a permanent record of our social
history. We were therefore thrilled to
find that the events at Eaton in 1968/9 were followed closely by East
Anglia’s premier newspaper, the Eastern Daily Press. Our friends there have generously provided
details and pictures from two stories written at the time, and allowed us to
reproduce them below…
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Friday 7th June 1968
Mobile
Bank for Eaton
MARTINS
BANK are opening a mobile bank unit in church Lane Eaton on Monday, and it
will continue in business until the end of the year, when a permanent
office will have been constructed on the site. The mobile unit moved in yesterday. The
unit, contained within a 35-foot-long six-ton caravan which travelled from
Liverpool on Wednesday night will be open during normal business hours.
Telephone, water and electricity will all be supplied to the unit, which
will be the first bank serving the Eaton-Cringleford area. “Judging by the interest, it should be
very busy” said Mr E B Thorington, the Norwich manager. The unit, which was
built by Coventry Caravans of Newport Pagnall, cost £10,000 when purchased
about ten years ago, and has mainly been used in the Liverpool area.
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One of Martins Bank’s MOBILE BRANCH Caravans
Image © Martins Bank
Archive Collections
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It contains both a
banking hall and manager’s office and, apart from accounting work which
will be carried out at the bank’s branch in London Street, Norwich, it will
operate as a completely normal bank.
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Thursday
22nd May 1969
New Martins Bank branch
at Eaton replaces caravan
Directors
of Barclays Bank and Mr R D Beaumont, general manager of Martins Bank, were
among those present at a reception for the opening of a new sub-branch of
Martins Bank in Church Lane, Eaton, Norwich yesterday. Mr E B Thorington, manager of Martins
Bank London Street Norwich, said the new branch came under his control and
until it was built they had been using a caravan unit at Eaton. He
said “Practically all our business has come since we opened up here in
Eaton. It is used by a lot of our
customers in London Street who find it easier for parking”. Mr Thorington thought the site on which
the new sub-branch was built was once used by a Methodist chapel. The builders were W F Pointer & Sons
Ltd and the architects Chaplin and Farrant. At
the informal opening of the new sub-branch of Martins Bank Church Lane,
Eaton yesterday (see images above and below), the manager Mr E B Thorington
(right) is seen talking with Mr R Q Gurney (Chairman of Barclays Bank
Norwich) and the Vicar of Eaton, Canon R Hurd.
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Image © E D P /
Archant Norfolk 1969
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Image © E D P /
Archant Norfolk 1969
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Image © E D P /
Archant Norfolk 1969
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Mr E B Thorington, (known as Basil) is Manager of
Martins Bank’s Norwich Branches. He
gave us his memories of the time that Eaton Branch was finished and handed
over to his new bosses at Barclays.
Getting on with the boss…
 PRENTON, Birkenhead Branch
was my first managerial appointment before taking over NORWICH
in
1965. The main branch at 59 London St also controlled the Cattle Market,
University and Eaton sub-branches, the latter we built in Eaton ahead of all
the other Banks and when the building was completed it was handed over to
Barclays, much to their delight!
Martins were thin on the ground in East Anglia, John Thorogood at KINGS LYNN and Ken Batten
at IPSWICH. We were looked
down upon by Barclays but still managed to increase staff numbers from 14 –
22 in 4½ years most of the new business coming from Barclays. At the Norfolk show it was suggested by a
newly arrived Local Director that we should combine our stands which we
did. He came from London and as
was the custom, gin and tonics were freely available. Mr Richard Gurney from
Norwich paid us a visit and when he saw the alcohol, being a Quaker, he
walked straight out. Nevertheless he was very kind to my staff and myself”.
Remember to use the Post
Code…
Around the same time that Martins is making its
final foray into Barclays’ heartland of East Anglia, the GPO (General Post
Office) is issung the first experimental postal codes in the Norwich area.
The post code for the new Branch at Eaton is NOR 53D a format that is dropped by the time post
codes are introduced to the rest of the nation, and changed to the more
familiar abbreviation of postal town to a maximum of TWO letters and one
number, being followed by one number and two letters to indicate the locality
and building.
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