Frequently asked questions
Archive | Holdings | Using the Archive | FAQs | Contact
What records do you hold?
Who can visit the Archive to do research?
Can you do research on my behalf?
Can I request copies of records?
Do you have records about other banks?
Do you have accounts for everyone who had bank
accounts in London?
Has the Bank of England ever had any overseas branches?
What are the Bank of England Will Extracts?
Do you hold personal papers of former senior
officials?
What records do you hold?
We hold over 75,000 volumes, files and individual records relating
to the Bank of England’s history, past business and decision-making
dating from its foundation in 1694. These include customer and
staff records, minutes and papers of the Court of Directors,
the Bank’s governing body, correspondence from the Bank’s
regional branches on developments in local trade and industry
and modern files detailing changing policies, day to day work
and relationships with international central banks and governments.
Who can visit the Archive to do research?
Anyone, provided that they are doing bona fide research using
open records which are held by the Archive and can produce identification
if required. Access is by appointment only. You will need to
give details of the nature of your work and what you wish to
study. Demand is high throughout the year and so we recommend
booking several weeks in advance of an intended visit. We cannot
guarantee space so it is advisable to book an appointment before
making travel arrangements. Contact us if you would like to
make an appointment or ask about our records.
Can you do research on my behalf?
Unfortunately we do not have the resources to undertake extensive
research projects, although we can usually check salary ledgers
or small numbers of customer account indexes. If you are unable
to visit in person, you are welcome to send someone on your
behalf. Otherwise, we can advise on the use of independent researchers.
Contact us for more information.
Can I request copies of records?
We do not take photocopies from our files because of the damage
this causes. However, we do allow researchers to take limited
copies for private study or non-commercial research using their
own digital or SLR camera. If you intending to use a camera,
please advise the archivists when making your appointment as
space is limited.
Do you have records about other banks?
The Archive only holds records created by the Bank of England.
If you are interested in a particular bank or branch, it is
advisable to first contact the individual bank or its successor
for information about surviving records.The contact details
of other bank archives can be found using the National Archives’
ARCHON online gateway (see 'external links').
If the bank is no longer operating, the following sources are also useful for tracing surviving records held elsewhere:
ORBELL, John, & TURTON, Alison. British banking. A guide to historical records. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001.
BANKERS’ ALMANAC. Register of bank name changes & liquidations. Amalgamations, absorptions and liquidations of international banks since 1750. East Grinstead: Bankers’ Almanac, 1992.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF ARCHIVES, maintained by the National Archives
on its website (see 'external links')
Do you have accounts for everyone who
had bank accounts in London?
No.
We only hold account ledgers for customers of the Bank of England
from 1694 to 1899. Customer records of other banks are not held
by the Archive. If you know which bank you are interested in,
you can find out where the records are held using the section
above on records about other banks.
Has the Bank of England ever had any
overseas branches?
No.
What are the Bank of England Will Extracts?
The Bank used to maintain records of extracts from the wills
of stockholders, detailing how their stocks should be disposed
of. These ‘will extracts’ have been donated to the
Society of Genealogists (see external links) and can be used
to trace stock accounts. If you know that an ancestor held stocks
and want to confirm how they were disposed of, you should check
the will extracts first as our ledgers are arranged according
to the specific stocks held.
Do you hold personal papers of former
senior officials?
No. Personal or family papers of former directors or governors
are not generally added to the archive. You can search for personal
or family papers held by other archives using the National Register
of Archives.
