Take a look at some of the earliest documents which record the creation and development of the Bank of England.
1. The Charter incorporating the Governor and the Company of the Bank of England. (Archive M6/48, 27 July 1694)
2. A list of the names of subscribers to Bank stock in 1694. The list includes their signature, address, social status and occupation. It was written in the subscribers own hand so can be difficult to read. A version possibly written by a clerk was also compiled at the time. (Archive M1/1, 1694)
3. A contemporary list of the names of the subscribers to the original capital issue of £1,200,000 Bank Stock in 1694. This list is likely to have been compiled by a clerk. (Archive AC27/382, 1694-1715)
4. The first Bank stock ledger recording the transactions of the original subscribers to Bank Stock in 1694. This includes the stock transactions of King William and Queen Mary who invested in £10000 of Bank Stock. (Archive AC27/414, 1694–1696)
5. The minutes recorded at the first meeting of the Bank’s Court of Directors in 1694. Originally the Court consisted of the Governor, Deputy Governor and 24 Directors. (Archive G4/1, 27 July 1694)
6. A lease signed between the City of London and the Governor of the Bank of England for Grocers Hall for the term of 11 years. This was to be the home of the Bank until it moved to its own premises on Threadneedle Street in 1734. (Archive E56/1, 30 November 1694)
7. The oldest record in the Bank’s Archive; the Will of Thomas Carter, a citizen and clothier in the parish of St. Margaret, Lothbury. Although unrelated to the Bank, it forms part of local property records which the Bank has inherited as it has grown. (Archive E56/971, 11 August 1516)
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This page was last updated 30 November 2023