The arms of Martins Bank on a building in Warkworth, Northumberland.
Martins Bank was a London private bank, trading for much of its time under the symbol of “The Grasshopper”, that could trace its origins back to the London goldsmiths. Martins agreed to its acquisition by the Bank of Liverpool in 1918. The Bank of Liverpool wanted Martins to give it a London presence and a seat on the London Clearing House; the Martins name was retained in the title of the enlarged bank which was known as The Bank of Liverpool and Martin’s Limited. The title was shortened to Martins Bank Limited (without an apostrophe) in 1928 at the insistence of the directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank when it was bought by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins. The Head Office and managerial control remained firmly in Liverpool, cementing Martins’ place as the only English national bank to have its Head Office outside London.