Customers joined The Cumberland in celebrating its 175th anniversary yesterday with cake and a special birthday card.
The Carlisle-based building society, which is one of the oldest still in existence, has served the community since it was formed in the city on April 16 1850.
Carlisle mayor Chris Southward was among the first to join the celebration at the flagship English Street branch and to sign the card wishing The Cumberland a happy 175th birthday.
Customers also added their signatures throughout the day – and enjoyed birthday cake laid on for the occasion.
Customer Ruaridh Kennedy, said: “To reach 175 years is amazing actually. The Cumberland has come a long way since I joined 10 years ago. You can tell it’s happy, buzzing with lots of smiling faces. I was surprised walking in and seeing this, it’s nice to be part of something. It feels very local, and a part of Carlisle.”
Another customer, Colin Brown, said: “It’s quite an achievement and it’s still going strong in new premises. We’re happy to have our money in The Cumberland and support it as a local enterprise. And the cake is a bit extra!”
English Street branch manager Victoria Rose said the atmosphere was amazing with balloons, bunting, party hats and the cake went down a treat.
“Six months ago we reopened our flagship branch at English Street and it’s great to have another celebration,” she said.
“It’s a day to reflect on how far The Cumberland has come and myself and all the colleagues look forward to supporting our customers and communities for many more years.”
“It’s a privilege to be part of the celebrations,” said Councillor Southward. “The Cumberland has always been part of life here. 175 years is a great achievement.
“When we get all the town centre finished, it’s right at the heart of the new developments in Carlisle.”
The Cumberland, which champions Kinder Banking and service by ‘real people not robots,’ supports savers and borrowers including businesses.
Every year The Cumberland also supports local communities through its extensive charitable work, tackling issues from food poverty to red squirrel conservation.
It is now Cumbria’s largest financial institution with assets of £3.2bn, over 720 staff and 31 branches across Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and south-west Scotland.
Claire Deekes, The Cumberland’s chief customer officer, said: “This is a proud day for The Cumberland. While always embracing modernisation we have never lost sight of our founding principles – to look after the interests of our members, the savers and borrowers, and to support our local communities. With these values at our core I am confident The Cumberland will celebrate many more milestone birthdays in the future.”
Jackie Arnold, chair of The Cumberland board, said: “We always strive to do the right thing and that’s encapsulated in our purpose to create a banking experience that is kinder to people, planet and community. I want to thank everyone who has had a role to play in creating an organisation with such a strong heritage.”
The Cumberland was first known as the Cumberland Co-operative Land and Benefit Society and one of the early aims was to encourage working people to divert some of their money into house purchases.
The Cumberland’s initial prospectus talks about instilling a savings habit. And it said: “The society will be open to all persons resident within the district of Cumberland and its members will not be restricted to age, sex or [political] party”. This was a radical sentiment for its time but is very much in tune with the modern Cumberland’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The second half of the 20th century saw it embrace technology such as ATMs and bank cards, then telephone and online banking.
Unusually for a building society, The Cumberland offers mortgages, current accounts and savings products to businesses operating in a range of sectors, including hospitality, healthcare, food and drink and professional services.
The society’s first branch opened in Preston in 1973. This was quickly followed by others, as The Cumberland established a presence across Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and Southwest Scotland.
Celebrations also took place yesterday at The Cumberland’s recently renovated Preston branch on Fishergate and High Street branch Dumfries where Provost Maureen Johnstone attended.
