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 The new Lewis’s Department Store opens in Bristol in 1957, and benefits
from being one of the few stores in the chain to have the Lewis’s Bank Branch
purpose-built within. When Martins
Bank Magazine comes to call at the end of 1960, the “newness” is not lost on
them, and they heap praise on this latest brick in the Martins Bank empire.
We also have a glimpse of the children’s counter, one of those unique
features of banking at Lewis’s which also includes the payment of credit
interest on current accounts.
Our second feature concerns the
arrival IN STORE late in 1962, of an army tank(!)…
  What
a pleasure it was to visit the branch of Lewis's Bank Ltd., in the new store
in the Haymarket. In commenting on our visit to this branch on October 18th
we find it hard to resist the temptation of becoming lyrical about the fine
new store itself, the best, in our opinion, of any of them. We will confine
ourselves to mentioning the attractive roof garden and cafe, where, in summer
weather, tables are set out of doors, continental fashion, and from an
observation platform above there is unfolded on every hand a magnificent view
of the city.
 The
bank itself is comparable in the beauty of its fittings, lighting and general
planning with any of the planning with any of the new branches of Martins
Bank and this is one of the branches of Lewis's Bank which has adequate space
for its business and does not give the impression of being squeezed into a
corner, and bursting at the seams. The Children's Counter is secluded and at
the same time, welcoming. The Manager
is Mr. E. J. Yates who, after a period of service in the R.A.F. from 1947,
commenced his banking career in Lewis's Bank, Manchester in 1950. He became
Manager at Hanley in 1954 and opened the Bristol branch in 1957 when the new
store was opened. Miss E. A. Chenery
(Mrs. Clark, pictured above) has been in the branch since the beginning.
 Prior
to that she was on the staff of the Bristol
Evening World. The other girl, Miss Marion Long, has also been on the
staff since the branch was opened and between them the two girls staff the
counter. We were interested to see Miss Long's handwriting in ledgers and on
statements. It is a refreshing change these days to see clear, legible and
attractive handwriting.
The other male member of the staff is
Mr. Michael Jackson who at the time of our visit had only been in the Bank a
month. He has started studying for his Institute of Bankers' Examinations
with commendable promptitude. The new
store is right opposite our Broadmead branch and the two branches between
them strike as modern, progressive and friendly a note as any other branch of
either bank.
Tanks
for the publicity…
  Of all the ways to get to the bank, going by TANK does seem to be a
little drastic – or maybe this is the latest – somewhat over the top – way to
protect the customers and the cash? In 1962 the ubiquitous counter security
screens of today are (thankfully) still to arrive, so
just WHY does Lewis’s Bank Bristol feel the need for this amount of
extra protection? Martins Bank Magazine investigates…
{The security precautions of Lewis’s Bank are
probably no better than those of any other bank, despite this picture which,
actually, was taken at the Bristol Branch during an Army recruiting week
which was held in the Lewis’s Store from September 20th to 29th. The vehicle is an armoured scout car
belonging to the Royal Horse Guards}.
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