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In
Martins’ branch at 38 Castle Street Liverpool, we find another great example
of a Head Office of a constituent bank of Martins. The Adelphi Bank
amalgamates with the Bank of Liverpool in 1899, and it is one of the more
important parts of the jigsaw of banks that have contributed to the Martins
Bank we know today.
 “The success of the Adelphi Bank in being the first constituent bank of Martins
Bank Limited to establish itself in both Liverpool and Manchester was a
consequence of the need for close collaboration between the two sister
cities, whose relationships had often been clouded by rivalry. The history of
the banking transactions between Liverpool and Manchester can be traced back
over four hundred years and illustrates all phases in the evolution of
banking from individual money men to private bankers and joint stock
bankers”.
Abridged from FOUR CENTURIES OF BANKING VOL II
© MARTINS BANK LIMITED 1968
The
Adelphi Bank Bronze Gates
What better sign of strength
and stability could there be for a bank, than these magnificent bronze gates
that guard the entrance to 38 Castle Street. It is important to remember that
the late 1800s was a time when many hundreds of banks across England and
Wales needed to appear to be on solid foundations.
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In Service: 1892 until 3
November 1972
38 Castle
Street, former Head Office of the Adelphi Bank is seen here in 1947
Image © Barclays Ref 0030-1662
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This was just as important
as having your premises exude grandeur and style. The latter would without
doubt seduce those with money to invest, but the former was key to confidence
being maintained – the “run” on the Northern Rock Bank, in the early part of
the twenty-first century, was in fact the first such event of its kind for
well over a hundred years. Perhaps bronze gates and ornate buildings might
restore confidence in today’s banks, at a time when loan companies allowed to
charge four figure percentages of interest appear attractive to the
traditional bank customer. At the very least it would make a change from all
that concrete and glass. We are
indebted to Beryl Creer – who as Beryl Evans was Martins Bank’s first
appointed female Assistant Manager in 1963 – for access to her huge personal
archive of Martins Bank memorabilia. Amongst this is the following concise
description of the meaning of the intricately manufactured bronze gates at
Castle Street:
 DESCRIPTION OF ADELPHI BANK BRONZE GATES
“The
beautiful doorway with its bronze gates was designed
by the architect, Mr W D Caroo M.A. In special reference to the Bank's name,
the subjects were chosen to illustrate representative incidents of
brotherhood from great historic periods:-
1. Jonathan's stratagem to aid the escape
of David.
2. The Dioscuri (as clouds) guarding and
guiding the Argonauts.
3. Achilles mourning Patroclus.
4. Orlando (Roland) rescuing Oliver.
Upon either side of each of these low- relief
panels are statuettes of the subject figures. These are in niches somewhat
freely worked into the face of the pilasters which form the
chief architectural motif of the design. A frieze of Putti – used
decoratively in other parts of the building in playful reference to the name
“Adelphi” – completes the decorative treatment of the doors, which are
surmounted by a rich grille, also in bronze. The design and details of the
doors were given by Mr W D Caroo, M.A., the figures and panels being finely
executed by Mr Stirling Lee. With the exception of the figure subjects, which
were cast by the cire perdue process by Mr Buhrer of Chelsea, the doors and
grille were admirably executed by Mr Starkie Gardner, the well-known metal
worker of Lambeth”
 On now to our Castle Street
features, which concern a musical reward for Miss Jean Tanner (pictured,
right), and the retirement of the extraordinary Mr wattleworth, whose diverse
knowledge of languages ranges from Manx to Portugese…
 We were very pleased to learn at the end of August of the success of Jean
Tanner, who passed the examinations of the London College of Music and became
an associate. Jean has been in the
Bank since 1949, and is at present on the staff of our Castle Street Branch,
Liverpool. She is twenty years of age and served at higher Tranmere Branch
before being transferred to Liverpool. She comes of a musical family and both
her father and her mother are keen musicians.
  A
gathering of friends, colleagues and former colleagues took place at Castle
Street branch, Liverpool, on January 31st, to bid farewell to Mr. R. A.
Wattleworth, Pro Manager, on his retirement after nearly 44 years' service. Mr. Wattleworth, or “wattie” as he is affectionately
known, is a Manxman and entered the Lancashire & Yorkshire Bank's service
at Ramsey in 1913, later transferring to Douglas. His term of service reveals
an unusual pattern. Apart from three years' army experience from 1917-1919,
oddly enough with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, he spent the first half in “The
Island”, the second on “The Mainland” and the whole within the walls of “L.
& Y.” branches. There cannot be many in the Liverpool District who can
claim such singularity of allegiance. Since
1939, “R.A.W.” has been at Castle Street and many a customer has been
thankful to avail himself of his comprehensive knowledge of foreign business
and the more diverse intricacies of the Exchange Control Act. Mr. Wattleworth has maintained his interest in his native
heath, having been a member of the Wirral Manx Society since its inception.
It is not actually established that he speaks Manx but it is known that he is
something of an authority on Portuguese! He also grows prize chrysanthemums.
At a cheerful ceremony (in English), Mr. H. P.
Meadows, Manager at Castle Street, paid tribute to Mr. Wattleworth’s loyal
and valued service when presenting him, on behalf of many subscribers, with a
Rolex gold wrist watch. Mrs. Wattleworth, whom all were delighted to see,
received a large bouquet of flowers from the musical hands of Miss J. M.
Tanner. With time to use as he wills, a new
car, a house on the Island and a home on the mainland it would seem that Mr.
Wattleworth’s years of retirement will not lack variety. But he has two
greater assets than these—a charming wife and his own philosophical disposition. Our best wishes go with them both.
102 not out!
We were delighted to be contacted at the end of 2012
by Jim Gummerson, whose father Mr J H Gummerson retired from the Bank in
1971, and is still going strong at the age of 102. Jim sent us this picture
of the staff of Castle Street Branch from 1937. Although there are a number
of signatures written round the outside of the original photo, many are
difficult to read, so we would like to throw this particular ID parade open
to our visitors in an attempt to identify as many of the staff as possible… The notice in the background
reads – “Please take lift to Deposits and Savings Department”.
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Image ©
1937 Martins Bank Archive Collections -
J H Gummerson
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A little
before this photograph was taken – March 1936 in fact - the cheque
below was prepared by the Bank for one of Castle Street’s Business
Customers. We are grateful to Stephen Walker, for another lovely image from
his personal collection:
Image ©
Stephen Walker
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  Castle Street is one of five branches in Liverpool chosen
to have its daily work put onto the Pegasus II Computer. This, and a parallel
experiment with two London Branches,
paves the way for the computerisation of the Branch Network. Whilst this is
successfully achieved in London, it becomes clear that different methods are
needed, and the full networking of Martins Branches begins after the
merger with Barclays. Even though Martins may not have chosen the right
equipment, it does have the internal know-how amongst the Bank’s Staff to be
abnle to design and write a program for Branch Accounting, some part of which
will continue to be used by Barclays for decades after the 1969 Merger. - See
also our feature pages for Martins Bank’s LIVERPOOL
COMPUTER CENTRE and LONDON
COMPUTER CENTRE.
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