| Description | The series consists of two types of volume: alphabets, which are indexes to the accounts of stockholders at the Bank (also known as Stock Register Indexes); and ledgers.
Alphabets:
Each stock managed by the Bank - starting with its own issued in 1694 - has an alphabet kept in one or more volumes, depending on the size of the stock and its term. The indexing system combines the use of the first letter of the surname with the following letter and/or consonants. The practice may have originated as a security measure against unauthorised access to the individual accounts of stockholders, particularly as the public had frequent access until the twentieth century to the Transfer Offices where the records were held. This alphabetic system is complex and idiosyncratic. Sole or first stockholders are initially indexed alphabetically by the first letter of their surnames or, in the case of corporate holders, by the first significant word in their title. Second or third stockholders on a joint account - although listed under the first stockholder's name - are not generally indexed. Therefore, using the single alphabet system, accounts where there are more than one stockholder may be indexed under only one name so users should be sure to check all relevant names.
The index system is based on a logic using the following subdivisions:
If there are many entries for any given letter in the alphabet, the indexes may be split into volumes which would be split by vowel. Within each volume, entries appear to be first divided by consonant and then vowel.
An example would be that Brink, Borne, and Burnet would all be very near to one another in the B(e-u) alphabet, because their first three consonants are always Brn. And in the B(a) alphabet, Baring would be right next to 'Brandon', because again for both entries the first three consonants are Brn.
Researchers should be aware of the possibility of wrongly indexed items.
As a sub-division became full, it was the practice to create a supplementary section at the end of each alphabetical letter or at the end of each volume: usually these supplements are numbered and their number is given in the main sub-division. Alphabets record the full names and addresses of the stockholders, although not always the addresses of the second or third stockholder in a joint holding. Changes to the names of married women were for a long time simply noted in the alphabet and stock account. Latterly they were reindexed. As ledgers became full and were rewritten, so fresh alphabets were done too, usually at five to ten year intervals. Only live accounts were carried across, so the names of stockholders on closed (or 'gone') accounts were not included in the new alphabet. Against the name of the first or sole stockholder will be found the number of the account or 'folio' in the relevant ledger. This number is usually in black ink and relates to the folio on which the account entries appear within the associated Bank Stock ledger. However, where there is an additional number written in red, it indicates that the stock account continued on that page in the next ledger in the series, after the period covered by that alphabet.
Double Alphabets:
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the practice of indexing stockholders who were not the first named holders in joint accounts was introduced: these were known as double alphabets. They were likely to have been introduced for convenient reference to the ever widening number of stockholders and the increasingly active market in Government stocks. They are indexed in the same way as single alphabets. Double alphabets were discontinued in 1907, after the information had been transferred to card indexes. Single alphabets continued to be used, but ceased to record either the stockholder's address or the folio number in the next ledger. Thereafter the records were indexed in modern alphabetic form. Card indexes were introduced to cover the flotation of the many World War One loans, but their order and efficacy became suspect. By the 1920s loose leaf alphabetical indexes in special binders (kalamazoos) were in use for individual stocks, while a general card index of stockholders, legal personal representatives and outside nominees continued until 1977, when they were both replaced by a computer index. Alphabetic 'gone' indexes were kept from 1905 in bound volumes (later kalamazoos).
Ledgers:
These volumes contain the individual records - or 'accounts' - of stockholders. Each stock has its own ledger or ledgers, which are divided into 'cut-ups' alphabetically. The size of the cut-ups varies considerably - a very small stock may not be divided at all, while larger ones are broken into two, four, or more ledgers, i.e.: A-K, L-Z; or A-D, E-K, L-R, S-Z, and so on. Some very large stocks are broken into numerous cut-ups: 5% War Stock, for example, contains 60 cut-ups starting with Aa/o and finishing with Wo/Z. Individual names within a cut-up are not close sorted alphabetically and occur in any order: references to particular accounts are obtained from the alphabets.
How to use with Stock Transfer books (AC28):
A link can be made between the stock ledgers (AC27) and the stock transfer books (where they exist). A reference for the stock transfer books can be found in the second-hand column of a ledger entry. The number refers to the stock transfer book page, and the letter corresponds to the volume. To search the series of stock transfer books, use the corresponding dates from the stock ledgers. From the stock transfer entry, two folio numbers are given which can be used to trace the purchaser and seller in the stock ledgers. However, a link between the two cannot be guaranteed for all searches.
The address of the account (stock) holder is not recorded. This information is to be found in the relevant alphabet until circa 1900, when addresses do begin to be recorded, albeit on an initially patchy basis. Deaths of stockholders are recorded from the outset, although details of representation do not start to be added until around 1760, and then rather erratically. Other relevant information is sometimes included, such as reference to lunacy and court orders.
In addition to the main ledgers, further ledgers were created in each stock where it was wished to separate certain accounts from the main body. Each stock differs in this aspect depending on its size, term, and the degree of working over the accounts. Ledgers can be found for various accounts operated by the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt (CRND): sometimes one volume will cover several accounts. Jobbers were wholesale dealers on the stock exchange, buying and selling stocks on their own account. Jobbers dealt only with brokers, being forbidden by Stock Exchange rules to deal directly with the public. As the amount of business covered by jobbers rose, their accounts were removed from the main set and entered in separate jobbers' ledgers. There are ledgers also for the Governor and Company of the Bank. In some stocks, holders had the option of changing the type of stock held, and the ledger accounts reflect those movements.
Dividend days for Consols were on 5 January and 5 July. Those for Reduced 3% and 5% Navy (5% Consols) were on 5 April and 5 October.
Before a transfer of stock could be made by either the stockholder personally or their attorney, they had to be identified to the Bank by an Introduced Member of The Stock Exchange or by a Stock Exchange Clerk acting under Bond. |