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NW
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WARD END
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65
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21st
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SW
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684 Washwood Heath Road, Birmingham B8 2HQ
021-327 0541
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Z
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1926
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674 Washwood Heath Road was the first location for Ward End branch, where business was transacted in the front portion of a small
house on Monday and Saturday Evenings from 18:00 to 20:00, commencing on May 2nd 1921. The Bank Committee had originally decided to
open a branch "to serve the Ward End and Washwood Heath areas" from July 1st, at 600 Washwood Heath Road, but were unable to obtain
possession from the Co-operative Society. An attempt was then made (1923) to purchase the leasehold of 686 Washwood Heath
Road for £725, but an issue regarding a right of way made the property unsuitable. However, the owner of the premises leased
by the Bank for the Evening Branch also owned 684 Washwood Heath Road and he was prepared to sell this leasehold property to
the Bank for £1,000 - including in his proposal that the Bank be released from its existing lease which had twelve years to run.
In
1924, the premises that were being used partly as a soda water works at
684 Washwood Heath Road, were purchased; initially it
was not possible to obtain the freehold on acceptable terms, but negotiations resulted in the freehold being purchased in 1926 for
£200. Following reconstruction, these premises were formally opened on April 10th
1926 by the Lord Mayor (Alderman Percival
Bower). The architect for the reconstruction of the premises was
Gerald McMichael, and the work was carried out by Maddocks &
Walford Ltd for the sum of £1,999.
A report in the Birmingham Gazette stated:
Ward End is proud of its new bank. Quite a large
company of residents assembled to watch the Lord Mayor open it on Saturday evening. Above its doors hangs the increasingly familiar
in Birmingham's suburbs, the big key of the Municipal Bank, bearing the words "Security With Interest."
The growing number of these
symbols is an indication of the steady progress of Birmingham's thriftiness about which Alderman Bower quoted some interesting figures
on Saturday. The growth of the Ward End branch, he said, had been hardly less phenomenal than the growth of the bank itself. Since
1921, when the bank had the old premises in Washwood Heath-road, 2,000 depositors had deposited over £53,336.
In a few years of its
existence the bank, as a whole, had become the treasury of over 200,000 citizens, and their deposits came to no less than £7,000,000.
"It
is our bank," the Lord Mayor added. "It exists for us, it is controlled in our interests. I hope it will go on playing a more and
more successful part in our civic life."
He urged that children should be encouraged to become depositors wherever possible.
The new
premises occupy an excellent site on the Washwood Heath-road.
In October 1933, the domestic accommodation forming part
of the premises
were vacated, and the opportunity was taken
to enlarge the branch to incorporate more counter space. The
work was completed by J Emlyn
Williams for £555, under the
supervision of John B Surman (architect); the work being carried
out in 1934.
Business was transferred to
a new site at the nearby
Fox & Goose shopping centre when the branch was
amalgamated with Alum Rock branch in July 1987.
below:
the Soda Works acquired by the Bank as a site for permanent premises, and the site following reconstruction in 1926
below:
the crowd assembled to witness the opening of the new premises: April 10th 1926
below:
the interior of Ward End branch in 1926, and following the alterations made in 1934
2012:
the premises are occupied by an Internet Cafe and a Hairdresser
right:
Washwood Heath Road in the 1950s
(Photograph courtesy of Alton Douglas: 'Birmingham in the Fifties - Vol 2',
published by
Brewin Books)
below:
the Lord Mayor (Percival Bower) speaking at the branch opening, prior to receiving the key to the branch from the Bank's Chairman
(C T Appleby).
To the right of the doorway, are the Bank's General Manager (J P Hilton) and his Deputy (Frank Ellison)
Managers:
1922 - G A Harling
1926 to 1928 - R H Tafft
1929 to 1931 - J Manners
1934 - S E Bennett
1937 - H B Davis
1958 to 1961 -
N L Newcombe
1963 to 1969 - G W Thomas
1970 - S Gregory
1971 - G T Edwards
1972 to 1974 - S C Wilson
1974 - C L J Bolton
The area of Ward End came within the city's boundaries in 1891, and land near to the two railway lines running through the area that
converged on Stechford station, began to be developed for residential purposes. This development progressed in the early 20th-century
in order to accommodate workers at the newly-constructed, nearby Metro-Cammell Carriage & Wagon Works. Thus, at the time of the
inception of the BMB, Ward End was an established suburb of the city.
= location of permanent branch at 684 Washwood Heath Road
right:
674 Washwood Heath Road - the temporary premises for the branch for its first five years. Unusually, the letters 'BMB' are a
feature of the frontage.
= location of Alum Rock branch