Bank branch celebrates 225 years
A GRAND old man of Colchester High Street is celebrating its 225th year.
The Barclays branch is one of the longest-established in the group, and has witnessed the transformation of banking from small-scale enterprises to international, hi-tech businesses.
The branch has occupied the same site throughout its history.
A conveyance dated 8 June 1897 describes it as, “land and buildings known as number 9 High Street….together with a right of way over the roadway at the rear….to Culver Street”.
In 1911, Barclays acquired neighbouring premises.
The original Banking House has been rebuilt and extended more than once, and the present facade dates from the late 1920s.
The first manager of the branch when it became part of Barclays in 1896 was Alfred Cobb, who served for 52 years.
Most Read
- 1 £1.5million project set to turn north Essex towns into giant gaming areas
- 2 School apologises for GCSE paper error as it falls to inadequate
- 3 Man identified after dog walker threatened in Sudbury
- 4 Andy Warren: Why keeping Sam Morsy is vital for Ipswich Town
- 5 Man caught drink driving over three times the legal limit in Suffolk town
- 6 'It makes you want to cry' - anger as bench dumped in pond at country park
- 7 Suffolk celebrates! Full list of county's 185 street parties for the Queen's jubilee
- 8 Girl, 12, injured after having foot run over by driver
- 9 Woman injured after car flips on its roof near Ipswich
- 10 Julia Bradbury's feature on 'beautiful' Sudbury airs on This Morning today
To mark the anniversary, town crier Robert Needham will be ringing out the news tomorrow, and staff will be on hand to offer a warm welcome and a choice of beverages throughout the day.
Customers will also be able to read the history of the branch on a specially prepared leaflet by Barclays Archives Department that goes back as far as 1787.
Colchester MP Sir Bob Russell will be visiting the branch at around 11am.
“This is an historic day for banking in Colchester,” he said.