A to Z - Selection Page

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MARTINS BANK’S BRANCHES FROM A to Z

One essential feature of the MARTINPLANNING Information Wallet – which is first issued to customers in 1966 – is the List of Branches of Martins Bank. At this stage the Bank has just reached the pinnacle of its success, but this success is also just beginning to cost a lot of money. With big changes still just out of sight around the corner, there is no reason to believe the Bank will not continue its exponential growth as the only major independent English joint stock bank, to be based outside London. However, times are about to change radically, heralding not only the adoption of a decimal currency in the UK, but also the merger with Barclays - as you can read in our feature BEGINNING OF THE END.

When the Martinplanning lists are printed in 1966/7 the Bank has more than 750 Branches and sub-Branches in England, Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Even more Branches will be opened within the twelve months before news of the merger with Barclays brings about the beginning of the end for Martins Bank. Down the years, bank branches arrived in their thousands – but as the twenty-first Century has so far shown – they have nearly all departed again, as the way people use money relies less and less on cash and face to face transactions. The eleven clearing banks of the 1960s were split into “the big five” and “the small six”. Of the latter group, Martins Bank Limited was the largest, and amazingly, between the creation of Martins Bank Limited in 1928, and its absorption into Barclays in 1969, more than ONE THOUSAND buildings were used as branches of the Bank in England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. There will therefore be a lot to see as you journey through the alphabet – large town and city offices, smaller rural branches, and tiny sub-branches dotted about all over the place. Some had special uses, such as Cattle Market (sometimes “Auction Mart”) sub-Branches. There were branches based on University Campuses specifically for the student banking market. Even some workplaces had their own sub-branch to serve the employees of large companies or factories, and in one case a hospital. Martins Bank even had a branch on the Centre Court at the All England Tennis Club, Wimbledon. Our A to Z page has been redesigned, and split into the choices you see below. Start your journey simply by clicking on an image to be taken to the relevant section of the alphabet!