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BRIEF HISTORY DURING THE SNOW ERA (1813-58)
The Bank of England was started in 1694 by the Houses of Parliament with passage of the Tunnage Act. The intent was to levy duty on shipping and alcohol. For a while it was known as the Tunnage Bank. The Bank was built on the present site in 1724-34 and the building was expanded in 1765. The third rebuilding occurred between 1788 and 1833 with Sir John Soane as architect. Soane's scale was gigantic with vaulted spaces and court yards. The main banking offices in the southeast corner had large domed ceilings that greeted the public. The Lothbury Court entrance to the north by Lothbury street was also imposing. Soane created the outer wall of the Bank, which today is the only remaining part.
Throughout its early history, the Bank experienced much turmoil stemming from government and citizens demands for money beyond internal reserves. Even Spanish dollars were used for a while, taken from captured vessels. The Spanish coins were reissued in 1804 with a new stamp of the King's head on one side and Bank of England Five Shilling Dollar on the other. The Bank's general actions were criticized at the beginning of the 19th century in a political cartoon by James Gillray entitled, Political Ravishment or the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street in Danger. This likely lead to the Bank's nickname, The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.
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(Quarter Mile Section - K 22) |
Source:
Barker F, Jackson P. London -- 2000 Years of a City & Its People, 1974.
Sheppard FHW (ed.), Survey of London. The Parish of St. Anne Soho, Vol. 34, 1966.
Weinreb B, Hibbert C (eds). The London Encyclopaedia, 1993.
Ordnance Survey Map of Interior in 1873
Click here to see more details 14 years later
