End of a banking era in Northallerton when Barclays shuts

In our area, Barclays was originally Backhouses bank, which was founded in Darlington by James Backhouse and his son, Jonathan, in 1774.

At the start of the 19th Century, Backhouses was the most dependable bank in the North East. It survived the great banking collapses of 1815 and 1825, which each brought down about 100 banks across the country and left many towns, including Northallerton where the North Riding Bank crashed, bankless.

Barclays Bank in Northallerton is due to close in March

Backhouses stepped into the breach. By 1830, it had opened branches in Stockton, Bishop Auckland, Staindrop, Barnard Castle, Reeth, Richmond, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Yarm and Northallerton.

The first Northallerton branch was immediately to the north of Vine House, which is now the Potting Shed with the fabulous first floor window.

Rutson Hospital, Northallerton, 1931, when its vine was 100ft.

Here Robert Morton Middleton was the Backhouses manager for 37 years until he retired in 1894.

This opened the door for Thomas Russell, whose father, Nathaniel, was a grocer in Northallerton. Thomas had joined the bank in 1871, had gone away to work in the branches in Darlington and West Hartlepool but came home to take over as manager.

Thomas Russell, the first Barclays manager in Northallerton, for whom Bank House was built. Picture courtesy of Colin Narramore

His appointment coincided with a merger of 12 provincial banks, mostly Quaker, across the country. Barclay, Bevan & Co of Lombard Street in London were the biggest with deposits of £8.6m but Backhouses, which had long had an association with Barclays, was the third largest with deposits of £3.3m. These banks came together to form Barclays in 1896.

At the same time, the Northallerton branch was moved to the new Bank House in the High Street, which was built for Thomas’s growing family: his wife was Mary Ann Baines, whose grandfather had helped build the first stretch of mainline from York to Darlington through Northallerton in the late 1830s. Their two daughters, Harriet and Hilda, grew up in Bank House – which, perhaps not coincidentally, was next door to Nathaniel’s grocery shop – and became successful artists.

Harriet Russell, Thomas' daughter, in the gardens of Bank House. Picture courtesy of Colin Narramore

Hilda Russell, Thomas' daughter, in the gardens of Bank House. Picture courtesy of Colin Narramore

Thomas retired from the bank in 1919 after 48 years, so in 72 years, Backhouses/Barclays in Northallerton had had just two managers – you can see why, in times gone past, bank managers were such dependable pillars of a community.

Now, though, it is Thomas’s house that Barclays is retiring from as it shuts up bank on March 14.

It leaves one big mystery. Look carefully at the pictures. In the one taken in 1919 when Thomas was retiring, the door into the bank was on the north side, but today, it is on the south side.

But when was the change made and why would a bank go to such great lengths to shift a door about 10ft?

• With many thanks to Colin Narramore