One bank …. a tile shop ….. Café Nero …. and a return of an old favourite

 There are many who mourn the instantly memorable “Four Banks” name for the junctions of Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads.

Two of four banks, circa 1995

And of course, it made perfect sense given that there was a bank on each corner.

Just when “Four Banks” came into common usage is I think lost in time.

I don’t remember it much before the turn of the century, and anyway in the 1980s one corner was still a butcher’s shop while the Midland Bank didn’t move into its corner until the 1990s.  

Go back further into the past and the corner now occupied by the tile shop was a private residence called Sunwick which only became a bank in the 1920s.

No bank, 1983

All of which means that Four Banks or Bank Square* has had a short existence and has not even had the longevity of the former name Kemp’s Corner which owed its place in popular usage to Harry Kemp who opened a chemist shop in the early 20th century. 

Being a canny businessmen Mr. Kemp added a large clock above the entrance, and a meeting place was created, which lasted well after Mr. Kemp had died and the chemist shop became a fast-food outlet to be succeeded by the Midland Bank.

Like so many popular names it arose out of the obvious.  Here was Mr. Kemp’s shop with its clock which made it a perfect place to arrange a meeting, all too important in the time before mobiles.

Wilbraham Road the return of a name, 2025

And the observant will have noticed that the name Kemps Corner has reappeared on the building which was once Mr. Kemp’s and subsequently became the fourth bank.

At which point purists will point out the mistake in how the name has been painted on the wall.

The District Bank, circa 1930

All of which brings me to the current speculation on the demise of the last remaining bank on Bank Square, which given the swift demise of all the others seems a bet to be made.

But not so, as Peter Topping told me having gone into the Nat West on Tuesday to ask if they were closing.

 “The bank Manager Heather said definitely not... seeing as how they had just done a massive refurb and installed new ATM machines.

 I said I was glad about that because I didn’t want to have to rewrite the song about 4 Banks Corner!!!

 Anyway, she let me take a photo of a big picture on the wall which showed the bank in 1930”.

When Mr. Vincent Van Gogh visited, 2024

And that in turn will lead some to coin any one of a dozen variations on “one bank, a tile shop, Café Nero and a return of an old favourite”.

Those in the know will appreciate Peter’s dilemma given that he is currently writing songs about Chorlton some of which appear in his new book, “Musical Poems and Pictures of Chorlton-cum-Hardy which has its launch at Chorlton Library on Saturday between 2 & 4”.

This book breaks new ground, mixing his poems set to music and designed to "not only appeal to the visually impaired and hard of hearing but to everyone young and old".

All of which means his song Four Banks needs no alteration, but I suspect may inspire him to compose a new piece on the big clock on Kemp’s Corner.  

 Pictures; Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads, circa 1995, courtesy of Steve, almost the same corner in 1984, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, Kemp's Corner is back, Anne Hall, 2025, [permission being sought], The District Bank circa 1930 courtesy of the Nat West and the bank in the style of a painting by Mr. Vincent Van Gogh Painting 2024, Peter Topping

*The name Bank Square appears on a postcard from the late 19th century

When there were still four banks on Bank Square

I can’t be exactly sure of the date of the picture, but I know it must be sometime around the late 1990s.

Now I can be pretty sure of that because what was the National Provincial Building Society with its distinctive yellow lettering on a green background became the Abbey Building Society in 1996 which in turn became part of the Santander Group thirteen years later.


Added to which the Midland Bank which had moved into its present building in 1978, adopted the HSBC logo in 1997, having been acquired by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1992.

Those who want will look carefully through the picture and identify other lost shops and offer up stories.

What I like about the image is that in some ways it looks more dated than one of those black and white photographs from the 1900s which we know show a very different Chorlton.

But this one is close enough to us today to look very familiar ……. But just not quite.

And for those about to mutter about the name, Four Banks, our building societies had begun to become banks in 1989, and so by the time this picture was taken there were indeed four banks on each corner, hence the accurate title, which harps back to references from the late 19th century on picture postcards when people referred to the spot as “Bank Square”.

That said, as many will know the corner of Barlow Moor Road and Wilbraham Road, now occupied by the HSBC was popularly known as “Kemps Corner”, after Harry Kemp’s chemist which stood there.

As so often happens, remained the accepted name for the corner well into the 1960s, long after it ceased being a chemist.

All of which points to that simple observation that names for locations arise from popular usage, which I suspect will mean that the official name for the junction which is Chorlton Cross, will never catch on.

Location; Chorlton







Picture; Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads, circa 1995, courtesy of Steve

To lose one bank may be deemed unfortunate …..but three? ……. the sad end to a much used place name

The loss of three banks in a short space of time in the centre of Chorlton is bad news.

It may be that the staff of all three have been redeployed, and some customers will still be close to another branch or will fill the gap through internet banking, but for some employees and some who use the three banks this will be more than an inconvenience. 

But for a historian with the long view in sight, the disappearance of the three banks marks the end of that popular place name for the junction of Barlow Moor Road and Willbraham Road.

For perhaps two decades this spot was known as the Four Banks or Bank Corner.

I can still remember the first time I heard the name used, and it seemed perfect, and far more appropriate than the official planners name of Chorlton Cross, which never caught on.

And the reason why it was so appropriate, was that it described what was there, nothing more and nothing less.

Added to which it arose from people’s experiences, which remain the best way of finding a name for a place.

In the same way for almost a century the corner which included the HSBC Bank was known as Kemp’s Corner, after Harry Kemp’s chemist shop.

And in an age before the mobile phone  people arranged in advance to meet at Kemp’s Corner, a decision which made even more sense as there was a large clock above the door, allowing you to judge how late your friend was.

Earlier in the 19th century the junction of Hardy Lane, and Sandy Lane with Barlow Moor Road, which was originally called Barlow Moor Lane was known as Lane End.

It is a name which appears on old maps, but didn’t stop locals referring to it as Brundrette’s Corner after Mr. Brundrette’s grocery shop which stood nearby.

The loss of the first bank a year ago gave rise to a debate on whether the spot would now be “Three Banks and something else”, but the loss of two more made that discussion redundant.

But something will emerge, and it is as well to remember that before Kemp’s Corner, some people referred to the junction as Bank Square, although at one point there was only the one bank.

I vaguely knew that Santander was going and going in advance of the HSBC, but it was still a surprise when Peter presented his painting from 2019 of the closed bank.

Now the story of the Four Banks has rumbled on in the blog for years, and when that new name arises I shall be back to explore its history.*

And for those curious about who occupied the bank sites, I can reveal that in 1911, the HSBC was Harry Kemp's Chemists, opposite in the former RBS bank was a surgeon whose house was called Sunwick, and the name is still there on the gate post.  Across the road in what is now the Nat West, there was The Manchester & Liverpool District Banking Company, leaving the former Santander, as a grocer's shop.

But for now …. It is just Goodbye.

Location; The Four Banks

Painting; Santander Chorlton © 2019 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures

*The Four Banks, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=four+banks

In memory of the Four Banks and Bank Corner

 I can’t be exactly sure of the date of the picture, but I know it must be sometime around the late 1990s.

Now I can be pretty sure of that because what was the National Provincial Building Society with its distinctive yellow lettering on a green background became the Abbey Building Society in 1996 which in turn became part of the Santander Group thirteen years later.


Added to which the Midland Bank which had moved into its present building in 1978, adopted the HSBC logo in 1997, having been acquired by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1992.

Those who want will look carefully through the picture and identify other lost shops and offer up stories.

What I like about the image is that in some ways it looks more dated than one of those black and white photographs from the 1900s which we know show a very different Chorlton.

But this one is close enough to us today to look very familiar ……. But just not quite.

And for those about to mutter about the name, Four Banks, our building societies had begun to become banks in 1989, and so by the time this picture was taken there were indeed four banks on each corner, hence the accurate title, which harps back to references from the late 19th century on picture postcards when people referred to the spot as “Bank Square”.

That said, as many will know the corner of Barlow Moor Road and Wilbraham Road, now occupied by the HSBC was popularly known as “Kemps Corner”, after Harry Kemp’s chemist which stood there.

As so often happens, remained the accepted name for the corner well into the 1960s, long after it ceased being a chemist.

All of which points to that simple observation that names for locations arise from popular usage, which I suspect will mean that the official name for the junction which is Chorlton Cross, will never catch on.

Location; Chorlton







Picture; Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads, circa 1995, courtesy of Steve

Kemp’s Corner .... the Four Banks and Bank Square ....... names that speak of our history

The news that the RBS Bank in Chorlton is to close in August is sad news and more so because according to press reports, the closure of 162 branches across the country will lead to the loss of 800 jobs.*

Sunwick, circa 1900

How the closure will impact on the staff here is unclear, and nether the Guardian or the Manchester Evening News** who also reported the story give any indication of the potential job loss.

And the news of the closure has led to a deal of speculation on the future of the popular name the “Four Banks”, for the junction of Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads.

In a lapse of judgment I joined in, but on reflection it is a little in bad taste, given the loss of one of our local banks.

Not that what I say or think will change the decision or the speculation.

So instead I will return to one of my popular preoccupations which is how place names evolve.

For years the spot was known as Kemp’s Corner after Harry Kemp’s Chemist shop which occupied what is now the HSBC Bank and was a popular meeting place well into the late 1960s.  Before that, there is a reference in a picture postcard to the junction as Bank Square.

Kemp's Corner and Sunwick, circa 1900

What all three have in common is that they were popular names which arose from ordinary usage and have been more enduring than the official title of Chorlton Cross.

And that leads me to the building which is at present inhabited by the RBS.

It was called Sunwick and the name is there on one of the stone gate posts facing out onto Barlow Moor Road.

In 1911 it was home to Mr and Mrs Case, their two children and three members of staff.  Mr Case described himself as a “Doctor of Medicine” and playing to the stereotype his handwriting is all but illegible.

But I can make out that amongst the three servants, there was Jesse Lambert who was 30 and was employed as the cook, Mary Carpenter, the Housemaid and Sara Brow who is listed as “waitress”***

Sunwick was a large house consisting of 11 rooms, with small gardens at the back, front and eastern side, and was encompassed by a tall brick wall.  A little of the wall still survives on Wilbraham Road in front of that low level addition to the original building.

Sunwick, 1896

The property was distinctive enough for the map makers to include the its name on the OS map for 1896 and it appears to have been built sometime around 1885, when it was occupied by a Dr Andrew Denholme who sold it onto Dr George Byrne in February of the following year.

Dr Byrne was still there in the early years of the last century and by 1911 was home to the Case family.****

All of which points to the property having been associated with doctors from the outset.

A close trawl of the directories will offer up the moment it passed from a residential property to a bank, which it certainly was by the 1930s.

But, as what it will become that is idle speculation although some may assume it will become another bar, leading one wag to rename the junction, three banks and a bar.

We shall see.

Location; the Four Banks

Picture, Kemp’s Corner and Sunwick circa 1900, from the Lloyd Collection and Sunwick in 1896, from the OS map of South Lancashire, courtesy of Digital Archive Association, digitalarchives.co.uk/

*RBS to close 162 branches with the loss of 800 jobs, Julia Kollewe, The Guardian, May 1 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/01/rbs-to-close-162-branches-with-loss-of-800-jobs

**RBS to close 31 branches in Greater Manchester and Cheshire, Ravender Sembhy & Stuart Greer, Manchester Evening News, May 2 2018, https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/rbs-manchester-branch-closures-list-14600276

***Census, Enu 18 664, Didsbury, South Manchester, Lancashire, 1911

****Manchester Rate Books, 1885-1900