Martins Bank, Water Street, Liverpool

Martins Bank, Water Street, Liverpool MARTINS BANK, LIVERPOOL Created by: Jonathon Wild Campaign Director – Maelstrom www.maelstromdesign.co.uk 1 Martins Bank, Water Street, Liverpool CONTENTS SUMMARY………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 THOMAS GRESHAM….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 WATER STREET……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 MARTINS BANK………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 HERBERT J ROWSE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7 MARTINS BANK HQ WATER STREET……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8 MARTINS BANK – CONT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………9 SELECTED IMAGES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 – 22 2 Martins Bank, Water Street, Liverpool SUMMARY Martins Bank, located on Water Street, Liverpool, is a grade 2 listed building and former bank. Its location is on the corner of Water Street and Exchange Street West. Construction started in 1927, this was the head office for Martins Bank which was a replacement for the Bank of Liverpool Bank as this building was not able to cope with the demands of the banking services of the public. The building fronts on a very busy thoroughfare on Water Street. Water Street being one of the original seven streets of Liverpool (High Street, Chapel Street, Water Street, Castle Street, Dale Street, Tithebarn Street, Old Hall Street) which made the ‘H’ shape of the earliest roads in Liverpool. Water Street itself formerly called Bonk (Bank) Street which led to the original bank of the river Mersey. The building was in use till 2009 when the branch was disbanded. It has remained empty to this day and previous proposals on making use for the building have stalled. Martins Bank building is passed by thousands of workers each day, but one must inspect the Slave relief and wonder what part that must play in the history of the building. There is controversy over these sculptures of which we will come to later in a separate chapter. It is a masterpiece and considered to be one of the greatest interwar classical buildings in the country and yet it is a difficult building to capture in photography due to the cramped nature of the surrounding buildings to all sides. It sits comfortably along the Town Hall and mirrors the design of India Buildings across Water Street. The buildings features must be seen up close to puzzle the mind as to the history of the building. Do the sculptures on the exterior feature the role of slavery in Liverpool’s economy, or are they added as a celebration to the international aspect of Liverpool’s trade as a city? Further details can be seen up close to the building, but you must look for the finer details. While Martins Bank Building adorns the exterior on Exchange Street West, it is the finer detail that one can miss when hurrying past. The grasshoppers to the entrance on Water Street come from the crest of Sir Thomas Gresham, the supposed founder of Martins Bank. The interior of Martins Bank must be seen to be believed. There are two War Memorials from the Great and the second world war. It boasts of massive travertine limestone-clad columns, vaulted arcades and generous light flooding in from the skylights above. It is refreshing to see that the curved counter used in the banking days is still there to this day. The eighth floor holds the stunning and elaborate boardroom, with its beamed and painted ceiling. It is richly painted in hundreds of colourful motifs including beautiful golden Liver Birds. The arcade of India Building seems sparse in comparison. Of course, the reader cannot glance over the summary of Martins Bank without drawing attention to the 280 tons of Gold that once sat in the basement. Operation Fish saw 280 tons of Gold reserves transported from the Bank of England to Martins’ Head Office in Water Street for safekeeping before being shipped to Canada. Reading the plaque outside the bank sums up part of this rich history: IN MAY 1940 WHEN THIS COUNTRY WAS THREATENED WITH INVASION PART OF THE NATIONS GOLD RESERVE WAS BROUGHT FROM LONDON AND LOWERED THROUGH THE HATCH FOR SAFE KEEPING IN THE VAULTS OF MARTINS BANKS. The history of this building is as rich and varied as the stunning interior and yet there are many people who have never set foot inside this building. 3 Martins Bank, Water Street, Liverpool THOMAS GRESHAM 1.1.1 INTRODUCTION The Grasshopper. This is the sign under which the bank traded and was known in its early years. The history of Martins Bank is from the tradition that Thomas Gresham founded the bank back in 1563. The first use of the Grasshopper sign was positioned in Lombard Street, but has no early connection with Martins Bank. Sir Thomas Gresham the Elder, born 1519 (died 21st November 1579) was a noted Merchant and financer who was controlled by King Edward VI. Gresham founded the Royal Exchange in the City of London. He was born in London and was the son of Sir Richard Gresham who was a leading merchant and one-time Lord Mayor of London. ‘Sir’ Thomas was knighted for negotiating favourable loans with foreign merchants. During 1551, the authorities called upon the services of Gresham after a poorly mismanaged judgement by Sir Dansell. He had caused many issues and much controversy that the authorities asked Gresham for advice. Gresham advised the adoption of various methods including raising the value of the pound sterling on the bourse of Antwerp. This proved so successful that in just over a few years, King Edward VI was nearly debt free. Sir Thomas was of great influence in the 16th century. He founded the first Royal Exchange in 1565 which turned the centre of London in to a global centre of finance. But why the Grasshopper? Legend has it, that the ancestor of Thomas, Roger De Gresham, was abandoned in the marshlands of Norfolk. The orphan’s discovery was down to a grasshopper’s sound. The Gresham family incorporated the insect in to their coat of arms. Gresham was also a wool merchant and began as a Goldsmith in around 1563. The family crest was adored in Gold and added as his shop sign in Lombard Street. After Gresham’s death, the grasshopper sign was used by successive goldsmiths on the same site – 68, Lombard Street. It was down to these early partnerships that evolved in to Martins Bank. Gresham’s Law is a famous principle where ‘bad money drives out good’. The law was named after Gresham who explained to Queen Elizabeth I what was happening to the English Shilling. Her father had replaced 40 percent of the silver in the coin with base metal as to increase government income without raising taxes. Many people would therefore save the ‘good’ money and spend the ‘bad’ money. The good coins would be saved and eventually disappear from circulation. Gresham died in November 1579 and was buried at St Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate, London. The grasshopper signs live on, on top of the Royal Exchange building in London. Another can be seen in Change Alley marking the site of Garraways Coffee House. Again, there is the gold grasshopper on Lombard Street carrying the date of 1563 and pre-dates the Great Fire of London. With the Gresham moto and family crest stating, “On a Mount Vert a Grasshopper”. Further afield, the grasshopper has also appeared by Gresham College, and across the water in The Faneil Hall at Boston, Massachusetts. Finally, there is the rare Grasshopper signet ring. The ring was gifted by Gresham to a gentleman in the reign of Elizabeth I. It features a crystal signet bearing the arms of Edmund Tremayne, clerk to the privy council. The inner side is engraved, with a grasshopper. 4 Martins Bank, Water Street, Liverpool WATER STREET Water Street, Liverpool. One of the original 7 streets of Liverpool that was laid out in a H fashion. It takes its name from Bonk Street (this is from the Lancashire dialect, the Bonk of the River). It was then renamed to Bank Street (the bank of the river) and then to Water Street in 1520. Standing at the bottom of Water street, your feet would have been on the shoreline of the Mersey. These days, Water Street is a very busy one-way street lined with historical buildings either side. The Town Hall - To the right is the Town Hall. Pevsner Architectural Guide are a series of guide books to the architecture of the UK and it describes the Town Hall as, ‘a magnificent scale, and consider it to be one of the grandest suites of civic rooms in the kingdom. Rebuilt in 1802 and a Grade 1 listed building, it is one of Liverpool’s well recognised buildings. The interior provides a Hall of Remembrance to the Liverpool servicemen killed in the first world war. The upper rooms consist of well decorated rooms for events and functions. The website for Liverpool Town Hall is: https://www.liverpooltownhall.co.uk/ 7 Water Street was once the former Head Office of the Bank of Liverpool. With this being both the Head Office and the city branch, it provided the first home to the Bank of Liverpool itself. For a short time between 1928 to 1932, it became the Head Office of Martins Bank. The huge bronze entrance doors are furnished with panthers' heads with open jaws and ferocious teeth. India Buildings across the road is very much in the same style as Martins Bank. Which is not surprising as both buildings were designed by Herbert J Rowse. This building, the design influenced by the Italian Renaissance, was built in 1924, shortly before the building of Martins Bank. It was built as a private building for the Blue Funnel Line and partly let to other businesses. There are 9 stories in total, a mezzanine, basement and sub- basement.

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