Historic listing for first bank ATM

A suburban London bank branch has been added to Historic England’s list of heritage sites, listed because it was the world’s first bank to be fitted with an Automatic Teller Machine, kicking off the ATM age.

The Barclays bank in Enfield has been given a Grade II listing, based on both the history and the architectural interest of the 1897 building itself.

Ironically, the designation comes at a time when many bank branches, in the UK and around the world, are closing and some ATMs are being shut down in the face of the growth of online and electronic banking and the use of cards and apps in place of cash.