British Provincial Banknotes at Baldwins January Auction

One of the more interesting and stronger sections of banknotes being sold by Baldwins at their banknote auction on the 29th. of January, are British Provincial banknotes. Apart from a very good private collection of Provincial British banknotes sold at the beginning of the sale (lots 47 to 112), there is a very good selection from Baldwins Basement, (lots 131 to 168).

The provincial private banks of England provided the invaluable function of supporting and promoting the Industrial Revolution. The Bank of England really confined itself to the City of London and with very little exception, never established any branches outside of the capital.

In order to protect the Bank of England from competition a provincial bank’s size was limited to six partners and really, they provided the emerging business and industrial enterprises with what we would call today ‘financial services’. However, these were banking services under artificial constraints and consequently there were many failures - as can be seen in the many banknotes here with bankruptcy dividend stamps and inked dividend notices.

Many provincial banks prospered for long periods and household banking names such as Lloyds partially evolved from Gloucester and Stafford banks in its past, as did Nat. West from Derby, Dover and Nottingham banks.

In the latter half of the 19th. century these private banks that were left became part of the joint stock movement and established themselves within the modern banking institutions in which we are familiar today.

Each provincial bank could issue its own banknotes, although legislation in 1777 prohibited banknotes under £5. - but in 1797 this was reduced to £1 or 1 guinea due to the financial strains of the war with France. After the French were defeated, this was raised to £5 in 1825 and no lower denominations were issued until the next century. In 1844 there were 442 different banks operating in England and Wales and at that point it was legislated then that no more private banks could be set up.

Eventually at the end of the 19th. century the major banking firms, through amalgamation and consolidation, came to dominate, ultimately leaving the banking names of Barclays, Midland, Lloyds and Nat. West. that we all know and use today.

Throughout the very end of the 18th. century and all the 19th. century there were thus a very large amount of local banks, all around the country, issuing their own banknotes. These often reflect the distinctive designs and features of the area, as well as offering a unique and fascinating insight into the historical development of the English banking system.

Provincial banknotes are a real and tangible link with the past. Virtually every English city and town had a local, bank that issued its own series of promissory notes and through them one is in contact with the origins and growth of the industrial revolution, the subsequent development of our major cities, and also with the establishment of a banking system that enabled London to eventually become so important in today’s world of finance.

Here are a few examples of provincial banknotes coming up for auction:

Lot 49 Bridport, Dorsetshire General Bank £1. note, early 1800s

The Dorsetshire General Bank was established in 1809 by Fowler & Good in Bridport, unfortunately it went bankrupt very soon after its establishment in 1812. It produced this very attractive banknote, with a fine vignette to the left, of a ship-building scene, one of the principal industries in south Dorset. This banknote is unissued and none have been found that were issued and circulated. What is difficult to see is that there is an embossed Revenue stamp for threepence to the left of this vignette, ghosting through.

Lot 50 Burnley, the Craven Bank £10. note, unissued late 1870s

The Craven Bank was founded in 1791 and went through a number of forms throughout the 19th. century. Its head office was in Skipton, this banknote being issued for one of its branches at Burnley. The bank adopted the Craven Heifer (a cow, bred at Bolton Abbey in 1807, which lived in the early 19th century , and remains the largest cow ever shown in England) as its emblem and it appeared on the banknotes in the form of a beautifully engraved vignette - these banknotes notes were colloquially referred to as "the notes wi' the cow on". The bank survived and was eventually taken over in 1906 by the Bank of Liverpool and its head office building in the Hight Street of Skipton, is now a Barclays. This banknote is unissued and was printed just prior to 1880 when the bank became Ltd.

Lot 80 Norwich, Norwich and Swaffham bank £10. note, 1823

The Norwich and Swaffham bank was founded in 1795 by Day, Dalton & Day, but failed in 1825. This banknote issued just before the bank failed in 1825 has a very pretty vignette of Swaffham Butter Cross and the denomination in blue. It is also interesting to note the large Bankruptcy notice circular stamp dated January 1826, stating that hearing was held at the Norfolk Hotel in Norwich. There is also another official stamp on this note stating that the first dividend was 10 shillings.

Lot 99 Tonbridge, Tonbridge New Bank, £1. note 1813

The Tonbridge New Bank was established in 1813 but failed only three years later in 1816. It didn’t last very long – perhaps because of the existence of another bank in Tonbridge, the Tonbridge bank? The note is signed by Thomas mercer and on the reverse, in ink, it states ‘Exhibited Townhall 21st May 1816, against Mercer & Barlow. J C Gough / Edm. King Dec 19 1814’.

Lot 103 Mevagissey, Mevagissey Bank £1. Note, 1823

Philip Ball started the Mevagissey Bank in south Cornwall in 1807, but it collapsed in November 1824, shortly after this note was issued. Mevagissey relied on the pilchard trade which was declining by the 1820s and when the bank failed there was much hardship on a town already on its knees and many fishing boats had to be sold along the south coast. Smuggling probably became more important to the town at this point as this lawful activity of fishing became more difficult to earn a living from. The Balls were very much a local family.

Lot 142 Darlington, Darlington Bank £5., 1887

The Darlington Bank was founded by the Backhouse family in 1774, The bank thrived – it weathered the economic storms of the war with France (when even the Bank of England suspended redemption of its notes), it was heavily involved in the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and set up banks in Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland and Stockton-on-Tees. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was one of the largest banks in the UK, having 20 branches and managing facilitated and promoted economic growth in the North East that made this area such an industrial powerhouse throughout the nineteenth century. The Backhouse banking empire was eventually taken over by Barclays at the end of that century in 1896 and Sir Jonathan Backhouse became a full Director of Barclays, retiring in 1913.

Many more English and Welsh towns and cities are represented in this auction through their local banknotes – look through the auction listed on the website to see the many provincial banknotes being sold in this auction in a few days’ time

Specialist

Richard Gladdle

Professional Numismatist

Richard Gladdle

The Provincial banknotes in the sale

Richard Gladdle