IT may convey an image of a thoroughly 21st Century business with plush glass-fronted headquarters and slick promotional literature, but Darlington Building Society owes its existence to a very different age.

And in many ways, the philosophies that inspired its creation in 1856 remain as pronounced in its approach to business today.

Next year will be the society's 150th anniversary and much has changed since it was created in a world when the working man was only just beginning to realise the importance of saving.

Building societies began to come into existence at the end of the 18th Century, primarily to allow men to pay for the construction of their new homes.

Darlington Building Society came into being, although under another name, in a backroom over what was Mrs Johnson's Eating House, now Crombies restaurant, in Tubwell Row in the town centre.

The first meeting was called by a group of ambitious men desperate to rise above the hoi polloi and become men of substance and property at a time when Darlington was growing rapidly due to its status as the birthplace of the railways.

The men who gathered at Mrs Johnson's Eating House were merchants and tradesmen, who believed that by investing their money they could forge better lives for themselves and their families at a time when poverty was widespread.

As a result of their deliberations, the Darlington Working Men's Equitable Permanent Benefit Building Society came into being in October 1856 - a bit of a mouthful and a devil to get on a business card, but important all the same.

It was an immediate success and the first year's receipts totalled £200 8s 71/2 d, the half pence coming in the form of a penalty fine on a borrower.

Despite difficult economic conditions generally in the 1850s, the society managed to weather many a storm and by 1866 its assets had grown to more than £22,500: today they are approaching £600m.

The 1870s saw the beginnings of a significant period of rapid expansion, not unlike that being experienced by the society at the moment.

In many ways, the decisions taken by the society's managers in those days mirror the challenges being addressed by their modern counterparts.

The 1870s management realised that standing still was, in business terms, going backwards and that more members and more investment was needed to secure the society's future.

Their answer was the expansion into Middlesbrough in 1872 and the growth which followed was such that in 1886, the society become incorporated.

The 19th Century managers also realised, like their modern day counterparts, that image is important in business and concluded that they needed bright new offices to reflect their growing success.

So, the society moved from what was described as a 'dirty little room at the end of a long dark passage' behind Bennet House, in the Market Place, to offices in nearby High Row, the focal point of the town centre.

The business changed its name to Darlington Equitable Building Society and began to put in place the kind of management structure needed to survive and thrive, with the appointment of a company secretary and additional directors.

In the years that followed, the society kept on the move, transferring to nearby Northgate in 1895, near the site of the current British Homes Store shop, and to Church Row in 1903.

Even through the difficult times of the First World War, it continued to grow and by 1926, when it celebrated its 70th anniversary, its assets stood at £926,796.

After the Second World War, the modern-day version of the society was formed as the Darlington Equitable Building Society merged with the Durham and Yorkshire Building Society in 1946. The new name was Darlington Building Society.

In 1968, the society made another move, this time to Tubwell Row, just up from the old Mrs Johnson's Eating House where that first meeting was held. It still has a branch in the street.

In 1994, it moved its headquarters to the newly-built Sentinel House, next to Morrisons on the Morton Park development on the eastern edge of Darlington.

There remains a strong sense of history among the staff of the society. Chief executive Peter Rowley said: "We believe that we occupy a position that is unique in the town. We have been independent for 150 years."

Planning for the 150th celebration next year is already under way and includes an event at Darlington Civic Theatre's pantomime Beauty and the Beast in February and a family fun day.

Mr Rowley said that the philosophies of the founding fathers remained strong within the society; growth to secure its future rather than for growth's sake and a determination to serve its investors and the local community.

The society supports more than 100 local worthy causes and has been involved in sponsorship deals with the town's football club and the Civic Theatre.

Mr Rowley said: "Over recent years we have put down deeper roots in the community and raised the awareness of the society."

The society has other reasons for being unique: with five outlets it has the smallest ATM machine network in the country and it is also the country's only building society constructing properties.

In a direct link with the reason building societies were created in the first place, the society has built 70 units, houses and flats, every year since 1997.

One of its most recent projects has been the conversion of the imposing Thorngate Mill, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, into apartments.

Next year's celebrations will be a special occasion for a building society, which has steered a steady path through the finance industry's increasingly choppy waters for a century and a half.

Mr Rowley said: "We are very aware of our history and are very proud of it."