Editing Bank of England (section)

==History==

===Founding===
[[File:Running Cash Note - Bank of England Museum - Joy of Museums.jpg|thumb|right|Handwritten banknote dated 1697, signed 'for the Governor and Company of the Bank of England' by 2nd Cashier Robert Hedges]]

During the [[Nine Years' War]], the [[Royal Navy]] was defeated by the [[French Navy]] in the 1690 [[Battle of Beachy Head (1690)|Battle of Beachy Head]], causing consternation in the government of [[William III of England]]. The English government decided to rebuild the Royal Navy into a force that was capable of challenging the French on equal terms; however, their ability to do so was hampered both by a lack of available public funds and the government's low credit. This lack of credit made it impossible for the English government to borrow the £1.5m that it wanted to use to expand the Royal Navy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nichols |first=Glenn O. |date=1971 |title=English Government Borrowing, 1660–1688 |journal=Journal of British Studies |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=83–104 |doi=10.1086/385611 |issn=0021-9371 |jstor=175350 |s2cid=145365370}}</ref>

====Concept====

In 1691, [[William Paterson (banker)|William Paterson]] had proposed establishing a national bank as a means of bolstering public finances.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkUTaZofJYEC&q=British+Parliamentary+reports+on+international+finance |title=British Parliamentary Reports on International Finance: The Cunliffe Committee and the Macmillan Committee Reports |date=1 January 1979 |publisher=Arno Press |isbn=9780405112126 |quote=Its foundation in 1694 arose out the difficulties of the Government of the day in securing subscriptions to State loans. Its primary purpose was to raise and lend money to the State and in consideration of this service it received under its Charter and various Act of Parliament, certain privileges of issuing bank notes. The corporation commenced, with an assured life of twelve years after which the Government had the right to annul its Charter on giving one year's notice. Subsequent extensions of this period coincided generally with the grant of additional loans to the State. |access-date=10 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426203717/https://books.google.com/books?id=EkUTaZofJYEC&q=British+Parliamentary+reports+on+international+finance |archive-date=26 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> As he later wrote in his pamphlet ''A Brief Account of the Intended Bank of England'' (1694): {{blockquote|"...it was proposed some years ago that a publick transferrable Fund of Interest should be established by Parliament, and made convenient for the Receipts and Payments in and about the Cities of London and Westminster; and to constitute a Society of Money'd Men for the government thereof, who should be induced by their Interest to exchange for Money the Assignments upon the Fund, at every demand".<ref name="PatersonGodfrey1694">{{cite book |last1=Paterson |first1=William |last2=Godfrey |first2=Michael |title=A BRIEF ACCOUNT Of the Intended Bank of England |date=1694 |publisher=Randal Taylor |location=London |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A56581.0001.001/1:2?rgn=div1;view=fulltext# |access-date=11 January 2024}}</ref>}} While his scheme was not immediately acted upon, it did provide the basis for the bank's first Charter and the legislation which made its establishment possible.<ref name="BoEHistFun" />

Two other key figures in the bank's creation were [[Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax|Charles Montagu]], the Member of Parliament for Maldon, who played a crucial role in steering the proposals through Parliament (and was afterwards appointed [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]); and [[Michael Godfrey]], who helped persuade City financiers of its benefits (and was subsequently chosen to be the bank's first Deputy Governor).<ref name="BoEHistFun" />

It has also been claimed (by [[W. R. Scott (economist)|W. R. Scott]], among others)<ref name="BR54">{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Emerson W. |last2=Reid |first2=John G. |title=The New England Knight: Sir William Phips, 1651–1695 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1998 |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-8020-0925-8 |oclc=222435560 |url=https://archive.org/details/newenglandknight00bake }}</ref> that [[William Phips]] played a timely, if incidental, role: his successful expedition to retrieve booty from a sunken Spanish [[galleon]] (the ''[[Nuestra Señora de la Concepción]]'') helped create an ideal market for the bank's foundation: flooding the market with bullion and creating an enthusiasm for [[Joint-stock company|joint-stock]] ventures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parker |first=Martin |date=2016-03-04 |title=How stolen treasure kick-started the Bank of England |url=http://theconversation.com/how-stolen-treasure-kick-started-the-bank-of-england-55607 |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref>

====Legislation====
[[File:Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|thumb|right|Charles Montagu played a key role in devising the legislation for establishing the Bank and steering it through the House of Commons.]]
Paterson's proposal required the Government to set up a fund from which [[interest]] would be paid to the subscribers. It was decided that this would be provided for by income from [[Tonnage and poundage|tonnage]], and certain other shipping [[Duty (tax)|duties]] routinely levied by HM [[Exchequer]]; therefore Parliament approved the bank's establishment by means of the [[Tonnage Act 1694]]<ref>H. Roseveare (1991). ''The Financial Revolution 1660–1760''. Longman. p. 34.</ref> ('An Act for granting to theire Majesties severall Rates and Duties upon Tunnage of Shipps and Vessells and upon Beere Ale and other Liquors for secureing certaine Recompenses and Advantages in the said Act mentioned to such Persons as shall voluntarily advance the summe of Fifteen hundred thousand Pounds towards the carrying on the Warr against France').<ref name="BankAct1694">{{cite book |editor1-last=Raithby |editor1-first=John |title=Statutes of the Realm: Volume 6, 1685-94 |date=1819 |publisher=Great Britain Record Commission |location=London |pages=483–495 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol6/pp483-495 |access-date=23 January 2024}}</ref>

To induce subscription to the loan, the subscribers were to be [[Incorporation (business)|incorporated]] by the name of the '''Governor and Company of the Bank of England'''. Public finances were in such dire condition at the time<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hendrickson |first=Kenneth E. III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdwsCgAAQBAJ&q=dire+condition+of+public+finance+1694&pg=PA63 |title=The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History |date=2014-11-25 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=9780810888883 |access-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202060409/https://books.google.com/books?id=EdwsCgAAQBAJ&q=dire+condition+of+public+finance+1694&pg=PA63 |archive-date=2 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> that the terms of the loan (as laid down in the Act of Parliament) were that it was to be serviced at a rate of 8% per annum; there was also a service charge of £4,000 per annum payable to the bank for the management of the loan.

The Act limited the subscribers' investment to a maximum of £10,000 each in the first instance, and £1,200,000 in total (it was envisaged that the Exchequer would raise the remaining £300,000 through other forms of borrowing).<ref name="BankAct1694" />

====Incorporation====
[[File:Bank of England Charter sealing 1694.jpg|thumb|right|''Sealing of the Bank of England Charter (1694)'', by Lady Jane Lindsay, 1905]]
The [[royal charter]] of the Bank of England was granted on 27 July 1694, three months after the passing of the Act.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In the end the £1.2 million was raised in 12 days; 1,268 people subscribed. Their holdings were known as Bank Stock (Bank Stock continued to be held in private ownership until 1946 when the Bank of England was nationalised).<ref>{{cite web |title=Index to Original Subscribers to Bank Stock 1694 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/archive/index-to-original-subscribers-to-bank-stock-1694 |website=Bank of England Archive |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref> The majority of the original subscribers were of 'the [[mercantile]] middle classes of London' (though [[tradesmen]] and [[artisans]] also subscribed).<ref name="Kynaston2017" /> Most (more than two-thirds) contributed less than £1,000. As a proportion of the total amount raised, 25% came from '[[esquire]]s', 21% from merchants and 15% from titled [[aristocrats]]. Twelve per cent of the original subscribers were women.<ref name="Kynaston2017" /> [[William and Mary of England|King William and Queen Mary]] (jointly) invested £10,000, the maximum permitted sum, as did a handful of others (including Sir [[John Houblon]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Index to the Book of the Subscriptions 1694 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/original-bank-subscribers/1694.pdf |website=Bank of England |access-date=27 January 2024}}</ref>

Investment in the navy duly took place. As a side effect, the huge industrial effort needed (including establishing [[ironworks]] to make more nails and advances{{Clarify|date=February 2016}} in agriculture feeding the quadrupled strength of the navy) started to transform the economy. This helped the new [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] – [[Acts of Union 1707|England and Scotland were formally united in 1707]] – to become powerful. The power of the [[Royal Navy]] made Britain the dominant world power in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jqDMmWhPHA |title=Empire of the Seas |publisher=BBC |access-date=10 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220124600/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jqDMmWhPHA&gl=US&hl=en&has_verified=1&bpctr=9999999999 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Governance====
The first Governor of the bank was [[John Houblon]], and the first Deputy Governor [[Michael Godfrey]]. (330 years later, in 1994, the bank would issue a [[Bank of England £50 note|£50 note]] depicting Houblon to mark its [[tercentenary]].)<ref>{{Cite ODNB |title=Houblon, Sir John (1632–1712), merchant |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-13861 |access-date=2022-12-17 | year=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/13861| last1=Roseveare | first1=H. G. }}</ref>

[[File:Running Cash Note - Bank of England Museum - Joy of Museums - 2.jpg|thumb|right|An early Bank of England note, with [[Britannia]] emblem, signed by the Chief Cashier, [[Thomas Madockes]], and dated 1699]]
Governance was vested in the Governor, his Deputy and a 'Court' of 24 Directors (most of whom were [[merchant banker]]s recruited from the City); the Directors were elected annually by a 'General Court' of all the Bank's registered stockholders (collectively known as 'the Proprietors'). The [[Company seal|common seal]] of the Court of Directors, adopted on 30 July 1694, depicted '[[Britannia]] sitting and looking on a Bank of mony'; Britannia has been the bank's emblem ever since.<ref>{{cite web |title=Britannia and the Bank (1962) |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/britannia-and-the-bank.pdf |website=Bank of England |access-date=2 February 2024}}</ref> 

The Court appointed three senior officers who, alongside the Governor and Deputy Governor, were responsible for its day-to-day running of the bank: the Secretary and Sollicitor, the First Accomptant and the First Cashier. (Their successors, the Secretary, Chief Accountant and [[Chief Cashier of the Bank of England|Chief Cashier]], continued to head up the main divisions of the bank's operations for the next 250 years: the Chief Cashier and the Chief Accountant had oversight of the 'cash side' and the 'stock side' of the bank, respectively, while the Secretary oversaw its internal administration.)<ref name="Hennessy1992" />

Besides these officers, the bank in 1694 was staffed by seventeen clerks and two doorkeepers.<ref name="BoEHistFun">{{cite book |title=The Bank of England: History and Functions |date=1970 |publisher=Bank of England |location=London |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/history-and-functions.pdf}}</ref>

====Premises====
The bank initially did not have its own building, first opening on 1 August 1694 in [[Mercers' Hall]] on [[Cheapside]]. This however was found to be too small and from 31 December 1694 the bank operated from [[Grocers' Hall]] (located then on [[Poultry, London|Poultry]]), where it would remain for almost 40 years.<ref name ="BoE1794-1984">{{Cite book |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/the-bank-1734-1984.pdf |title=Bank of England 1734–1984 |publisher=Bank of England Archive |pages=2–4}}</ref> (Houblon had served as Master of the [[Grocers' Company]] in 1690–1691.)<ref name="BoEHistFun" />

====Operation====
The Act of Parliament prohibited the bank from trading in goods or merchandise of any kind, though it was allowed to deal in gold and silver [[bullion]], and in [[bills of exchange]].<ref name="Allen1828" /> Before very long, the bank was maximising its profits by issuing [[banknotes]], taking [[deposits]] and lending on [[mortgages]].<ref name="Kynaston2017" />

In its early days the bank made significant losses, not least by accepting [[Coin clipping|clipped coins]] in exchange for its banknotes.<ref name="Allen1828" /> The establishment of a Land Bank (by [[John Asgill]] and [[Nicholas Barbon]]) in 1695, and a currency shortage occasioned by the [[Great Recoinage of 1696]], both threatened the bank's position;<ref name="BoEHistFun" /> but Parliament intervened, passing [[Bank of England Act 1696|another Act]] that year, which authorised the bank to increase its capital to over £2.2 million through the enlarging of its stock by new subscriptions.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Raithby |editor1-first=John |title=Statutes of the Realm: Volume 7, 1695-1701 |date=1820 |publisher=Great Britain Record Commission |location=London |pages=218–238 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol7/pp218-238 |access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref>

===18th century===
[[File:ONL (1887) 1.463 - Dividend Day at the Bank, 1770.jpg|thumb|''[[Dividend]] Day at the Bank, 1770''. The Pay Hall of 1732 was one of the Bank's first buildings on Threadneedle Street. (At one time shareholders were required to attend in person for the payment of Government dividends; the practice was abolished in 1910).<ref name="BoEHistFun" />]]
In 1700, the [[Hollow Sword Blade Company]] was purchased by a group of businessmen who wished to establish a competing English bank (in an action that would today be considered a "back door listing"). The Bank of England's initial monopoly on English banking was due to expire in 1710. However, it was instead renewed, and the Sword Blade company failed to achieve its goal.

The idea and reality of the [[United Kingdom national debt|national debt]] came about at around this time, and this was also largely managed by the bank. Through the 1715 [[Ways and Means]] Act, Parliament authorised the bank to receive subscriptions for a government issue of 5% annuities, designed to raise £910,000;<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Bank of England as Registrar |journal=Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin |date=1 March 1963 |pages=22–29 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/1963/the-boe-as-registrar.pdf |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref> this marked the start of the bank's role in managing Government Stocks, which were a means for people to invest in government debt (previously Government borrowing had been administered directly by the Exchequer).<ref name="Hennessy1992">{{cite book |last1=Hennessy |first1=Elizabeth |title=A Domestic History of the Bank of England |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |pages=43–45}}</ref> The bank was obliged by the Act to pay half-yearly [[dividends]] and to keep a book record of all transfers (as it was already accustomed to do with regard to its own Bank Stock).

The bank did not have a monopoly on lending to the government, however: the [[South Sea Company]] had been established in 1711, and in 1720 it too became responsible for part of the UK's national debt, becoming a major competitor to the Bank of England. While the "South Sea Bubble" disaster soon ensued, the company continued managing part of the UK national debt until 1853. The [[East India Company]] too was a lender of choice for the government.

In 1734 there were ninety-six members of staff at the bank.<ref name="Hennessy1992" /> The bank's charter was renewed in 1742, and again in 1764. By the 1742 Act the bank became the only [[joint-stock company]] allowed to issue bank notes in the metropolis.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bagehot |first=Walter |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4359 |title=Lombard Street: a description of the money market |publisher=Henry S. King and Co. |year=1873 |location=London |access-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509060631/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4359 |archive-date=9 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Threadneedle Street====
[[File:The history and survey of London - from its foundation to the present time (1756) (14590189508).jpg|thumb|right|''A Perspective View of the Bank of England'' (published 1756): the bank initially occupied a narrow site behind the front on Threadneedle Street.]]
The Bank of England moved to its current location, on the site of Sir John Houblon's house and garden in Threadneedle Street (close by the church of [[St Christopher le Stocks]]), in 1734.<ref name="Bldgs">{{Cite web |title=Bank of England: Buildings and Architects |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/Pages/history/buildings.aspx# |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910182914/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/Pages/history/buildings.aspx |archive-date=10 September 2015 |access-date=31 July 2015 |publisher=The Bank of England |df=dmy-all}}</ref> (The estate had been purchased ten years earlier; Houblon had died in 1712, but his widow lived on in the house until her death in 1731, after which the house was demolished and work on the bank began.)<ref name="BoE1794-1984" />

The newly built premises, designed by George Sampson, occupied a narrow plot (around {{convert|80|ft}} wide) extending north from Threadneedle Street.<ref name="SoaneMusSampson">{{cite web |title=Presentation drawings for the Bank as designed by George Sampson, 1732 |url=https://collections.soane.org/OBJECT2032 |website=Sir John Soane's Museum, London |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> The front building contained [[Stock transfer agent|transfer offices]] on the first floor, beneath which was an entrance arch leading to a courtyard. Facing the entrance was the 'main building' of the bank:<ref name="Maitland1756" /> a [[Banking hall|large Hall]] ({{convert|79x40|ft|abbr=on}}) in which bank notes were issued and exchanged,<ref name="Phillips1805">{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Sir Richard |title=Modern London: Being the History and Present State of the British Metropolis |date=1805 |publisher=Richard Phillips |location=London |pages=296–304}}</ref> and where deposits and withdrawals could be made.<ref name="Kynaston2017" /> (Sampson's Great Hall, later known as the Pay Hall, remained ''in situ'' and in use until [[Herbert Baker]]'s comprehensive rebuilding in the late 1920s.)<ref name="Rebuilding">{{cite web |title=Rebuilding the Bank of England |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/online-collections/archive-gallery/rebuilding-of-the-bank |website=Bank of England Museum |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> Beyond the Hall was a quadrangle of buildings enclosing a 'spacious and commodious Court-yard' (later known as Bullion Court). On the south side of the quadrangle were the Court Room and Committee Room, on the north side was a large Accountants' Office; on either side were [[arcaded]] walkways, with rooms for the senior officers, while the upper floors contained offices and apartments.<ref name="SoaneMusSampson" /> Beneath the quadrangle were the vaults ('that have very strong Walls and Iron Gates, for the Preservation of the Cash'); access to the courtyard was provided, by way of a passage leading to a 'grand Gateway' on Bartholomew Lane, for the coaches and waggons 'that come frequently loaded with Gold and Silver Bullion'.<ref name="Maitland1756">{{cite book |last1=Maitland |first1=William |title=The History and Survey of London from its Foundation to the Present Time (volume II) |date=1756 |publisher=T. Osborne and J. Shipton |location=London |pages=846–848 |url=https://archive.org/details/historysurveyofl02mait/page/846/mode/2up? |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> The pediment above the entrance to the main Hall was decorated with a carved ''[[alto relievo]]'' figure of [[Britannia]] (who had appeared on the [[Company seal|common seal]] of the bank since 30 July 1694);<ref>{{cite book |title=Britannia and the Bank 1694-1961 |date=1962 |publisher=Bank of England |location=London |page=1 |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/britannia-and-the-bank.pdf |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> the sculptor was [[Robert Taylor (architect)|Robert Taylor]], who went on to be appointed Architect, in succession to Sampson, in 1764. Inside, the east end of the Hall was dominated by a large statue by [[John Cheere]] of King William III,<ref>{{cite web |title=William III (1650–1702) (Henry Cheere (1703–1781)) Bank of England Museum |url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/william-iii-16501702-256600 |website=Art UK |access-date=21 January 2024}}</ref> lauded in an accompanying Latin inscription as the bank's founder (''conditor'');<ref name="Allen1828" /> at the opposite end, a large [[Venetian window]] looked out on St Christopher's churchyard.

====Expansion====
[[File:St Christopher le Stocks.gif|thumb|The Threadneedle Street front in 1773, after the addition of Taylor's east wing but before the demolition of St Christopher le Stocks (left)]]
In the second half of the 18th century the bank gradually acquired neighbouring plots of land to enable it to expand, and after 1765 new buildings began to be added by the bank's newly appointed architect Robert Taylor. North-west of the Pay Hall, overlooking St Christopher's churchyard to the south, Taylor built a suite of rooms for the Directors of the bank centred on a new (much larger) Court Room and Committee Room (When the bank was rebuilt in the 1920s-30s, these  rooms were removed from their original ground-floor location and reconstructed on the first floor; they continue to be used for meetings of the bank's Court of Directors and Monetary Policy Committee respectively.).<ref>{{cite web |title=Court Room |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/bankofengland/6220545302 |website=Flickr |date=7 October 2011 |publisher=Bank of England |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Committee Room |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/bankofengland/6220027309 |website=Flickr |date=7 October 2011 |publisher=Bank of England |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref> East of the Pay Hall, Taylor built a suite of halls and offices dedicated to the management of stocks and dividends, which more or less doubled the size of the bank's footprint (extending it as far as Bartholomew Lane).<ref name="Kynaston2017">{{cite book |last1=Kynaston |first1=David |title=Till Time's Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England 1694-2013 |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |pages=60–62}}</ref> These rooms were centred on a large Rotunda, also known as the [[Stock exchange|Brokers' Exchange]], where dealing in Government Stock took place; around it were arranged four sizeable Transfer Offices, each corresponding with a different fund (as described in the 1820s: 'In each office under the several letters of the alphabet, are arranged the books on which the names of all persons having property in the funds are registered, as well as the particulars of their respective interests').<ref name="Allen1828">{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Thomas |title=The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Parts Adjacent (Volume 3) |date=1828 |publisher=Cowie & Strange |location=London |pages=221–245}}</ref> All these offices were top-lit, to avoid the need for windows in the external walls.

[[File:A view of the Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London (NYPL Hades-280166-1253467).tiff|thumb|right|The bank in 1797: matching east and west wings by Sir Robert Taylor flank Sampson's centrepiece of 1733.]]
In 1782 the church of St Christopher le Stocks was demolished, allowing the bank to expand westwards along Threadneedle Street. The new west wing was completed to Taylor's design in 1786 (its frontage matching that of Taylor's earlier east wing): it housed the Reduced Annuities Office, the Cheque Office and the Dividend Warrant Office (among others). Immediately to the north lay the former churchyard of St Christopher le Stocks, which was preserved within the complex of buildings as a garden (known as the 'Garden Court'). North of Bullion Court, Taylor built a new four-storey Library, to house the bank's expanding collection of archives.

====The Bank Picquet====
The church's demolition had been prompted by the 1780 [[Gordon Riots]], during which rioters reportedly climbed on the church to throw projectiles at the buildings of the bank. During the riots, in June 1780, the Lord Mayor of London petitioned the Secretary of State to send a military guard to protect the bank and the Mansion House.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Bank Picquet: its function and history |date=1963 |publisher=Bank of England |location=London |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/archive/publications/bank-picquet.pdf |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> Thenceforward a nightly guard (the '[[Bank Picquet]]') was provided by soldiers of the [[Household Brigade]] (a practice which continued until 1973). To house the guard Taylor built a barracks (accessed from a separate entrance on Princes Street) in the north-west corner of the site.

====John Soane's rebuilding====

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Bank of England Site Act 1793
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title            = An Act to enable the Governor and Company of the Bank of England to purchase certain Houses and Ground contiguous to the Bank of England.
| year                  = 1793
| citation              = [[33 Geo. 3]]. c. 15
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 28 March 1793
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
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| related_legislation   = 
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| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
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| collapsed             = yes
}}
[[File:Bank of England - Soane's dividend office edited.jpg|thumb|right|The Dividend Office as rebuilt by John Soane]]
Sir Robert Taylor died in 1788 and in his place the bank appointed [[John Soane]] as Architect and Surveyor (he would remain in post until 1827). Under his direction, the bank was further expanded and partially rebuilt, bit by bit but to a cohesive plan. A survey of the buildings, undertaken at the start of his tenure, identified some problems, which were promptly remedied by Soane: for example in 1795 he rebuilt the Rotunda and two of the adjacent Transfer Offices (the Bank Stock Office and the Four Per Cent Office), replacing Taylor's timber roofs, which were leaking, with more durable stonework.<ref name="Francis1848" /> At the same time Soane was tasked with purchasing properties to the north-east, with compulsory purchase powers granted by the '''{{visible anchor|Bank of England Site Act 1793}}''' ([[33 Geo. 3]]. c. 15), so as to enable the bank to expand in that direction as far as Lothbury. Between 1794 and 1800 he designed a cohesive set of buildings within the new irregularly-shaped site: he reconfigured Bullion Court and provided a new entrance route for vehicles from the north, which was named Lothbury Court;<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Brian |title=Sir John Soane & The Bank of England |website=Heritage Group |publisher=Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers |url=http://www.hevac-heritage.org/built_environment/biographies/surnames_S-W/soane/S1-SOANE.pdf |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref> to the west of this he built a new Chief Cashier's office, and rooms for the Secretary and Chief Accountant; to the east he constructed a new Library block and added a fifth Transfer Office (the [[Consols]] Transfer Office) to the north of the other four.<ref name="ProjectSoane">{{cite web |title=The Bank of England |url=https://projectsoane.wordpress.com/home/all-about-the-bank/the-bank-of-england/ |website=Project Soane |date=14 July 2017 |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref>

====The Brokers' Exchange in the Bank====
[[File:Phillips(1804) p324 - The Rotunda in the Bank of England.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Soane's Rotunda, when still in use as a trading floor (1804)]]
In the late 18th and early 19th century, prior to the establishment of the [[London Stock Exchange]], the Rotunda in the Bank of England was used as a [[trading floor]] 'where [[Stockbroker|stock-brokers]], [[Stockjobber|stock-jobbers]], and other persons, meet for the purpose of transacting business in public funds'.<ref name="Phillips1805" /> Branching off from the Rotunda were 'offices appropriated to the management of each particular stock' containing books listing every individual's registered interest in the fund. The use of the Rotunda for trading ceased in 1838, but it continued to be used for the cashing of fundholders' dividend warrants.<ref name="Francis1848">{{cite book |last1=Francis |first1=John |title=History of the Bank of England, its Times and Traditions (vol. II) |date=1848 |publisher=Willoughby & Co. |location=London |pages=226–232 |edition=3rd}}</ref>

====Conflicts and credit crises====
[[File:Political-ravishment, or the old lady of Threadneedle-Street in danger! (BM 1851,0901.869).jpg|thumb|left|Satirical cartoon protesting against the introduction of paper money, by [[James Gillray]], 1797. The "Old Lady of Threadneedle St" (the bank personified) is ravished by [[William Pitt the Younger]].]]
The [[British credit crisis of 1772-1773|credit crisis of 1772]] has been described as the first modern banking crisis faced by the Bank of England.<ref>Rockoff, Hugh T., Upon Daedalian Wings of Paper Money: Adam Smith and the Crisis of 1772 (December 2009). NBER Working Paper No. w15594, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1525772 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801163304/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1525772 |date=1 August 2022}}</ref> The whole [[City of London]] was in uproar when [[Alexander Fordyce]] was declared [[bankrupt]].<ref>Clapham, J. (1944) The Bank of England, p. 246-247</ref> In August 1773, the Bank of England assisted the EIC with a loan.<ref>Clapham, J. (1944) The Bank of England, p. 250</ref> The strain upon the reserves of the Bank of England was not eased until towards the end of the year.

During the [[American War of Independence]], business for the bank was so good that [[George Washington]] remained a shareholder throughout the period.<ref name="veconomist">{{Cite news |date=16 September 2017 |title=The many, often competing, jobs of the Bank of England |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21728876-new-book-shows-how-hard-it-central-bankers-please-all-masters-many-often |url-status=live |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915114457/https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21728876-new-book-shows-how-hard-it-central-bankers-please-all-masters-many-often |archive-date=15 September 2017}}</ref>

By the bank's charter renewal in 1781, it was also the bankers' bank&nbsp;– keeping enough gold to pay its notes on demand until 26 February 1797 when [[French Revolution|war]] had so diminished [[gold reserves]] that – following an invasion scare caused by the [[Battle of Fishguard]] days earlier – the government prohibited the bank from paying out in gold by the passing of the bank [[Bank Restriction Act 1797|Restriction Act 1797]]. This prohibition lasted until 1821.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1862-01-27 |title=War Finance in England; The Bank Restriction Act of 1797—Suspension of Specie Payments for Twenty-four Years—How to Prevent Depreciation of the Currency |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1862/01/27/archives/war-finance-in-england-the-bank-restriction-act-of-1797suspension.html |url-status=live |access-date=2022-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217211305/https://www.nytimes.com/1862/01/27/archives/war-finance-in-england-the-bank-restriction-act-of-1797suspension.html |archive-date=17 February 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1798, during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], a Corps of bank [[British Volunteer Corps|Volunteers]] was formed (of between 450 and 500 men) to defend the bank in the event of an invasion. It was disbanded in 1802, but promptly re-formed the following year at the start of the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Its soldiers were trained, in the event of an invasion, to remove the gold and silver from the vaults to a remote location, along with the banknote printing presses and certain important records.<ref>{{cite web |title=Record (Letter from Henry Dundas MP...) |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=13A84%2F7%2F84 |website=Bank of England Archive |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> An armoury was provided on site at Threadneedle Street for their arms and [[accoutrements]].<ref name="Allen1828" /> The Corps was finally disbanded in 1814.

===19th century===
[[File:Bank of England (soane) - North West Angle by JM Gandy.jpg|thumb|right|''View of the Bank of England taken from the north-west angle as erected in 1805'' ([[J. M. Gandy]], 1825)]]
At the start of the 19th century a plan was enacted by John Soane for the further extension of the bank's premises, this time to the north-west (necessitating the rerouting of Princes Street, to form the new western boundary of the site). Much of the area of the new extension was taken up with steam-powered presses for the printing of banknotes (notes continued to be printed on site until the First World War, when the former [[St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics|St Luke's Hospital]] was acquired and converted into the bank's printing works).<ref>{{cite web |title=A history of banknote printing at the Bank of England |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/whats-on/2018/feliks-topolski/history-of-banknote-printing |website=Bank of England Museum |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> Soane continued in post until 1833; in the last years before his retirement he completed his rebuilding of Taylor's east wing and reconfigured Sampson and Taylor's street-facing façades to make the entire perimeter of the complex a coherent whole.

In 1811, an 'ingeniously contrived clock' by [[Thwaites & Reed|Thwaites & Co.]] was installed above the Pay Hall:<ref name="RosenbergHopkins1933">{{cite book |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Kate |last2=Hopkins |first2=R. Thurston |title=The Romance of the Bank of England |date=1933 |publisher=Thornton Butterworth Ltd |location=London |page=175}}</ref> as well as chiming the hours and quarters, it conveyed the time remotely (by means of brass rods extending a total of {{convert|700|ft}} in length) to dials located in sixteen different offices around the site.<ref name="Kelly1820">{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Christopher |title=A New and Complete System of Universal Geography (Part IV) |date=1820 |publisher=Thomas Kelly |location=London |page=760}}</ref>

[[File:Die Gartenlaube (1866) b 245.jpg|thumb|left|The Pay Hall (where notes were exchanged for coins, and vice versa) pictured in 1866]]
The '[[panic of 1825]]' highlighted risks inherent in the bank's three-way split loyalties: to its stockholders, to the Government (and thereby to the public), and to its commercial banking customers. In 1825–26 the bank was able to avert a liquidity crisis when [[Nathan Mayer Rothschild]] succeeded in supplying it with gold;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Harry |date=4 February 2011 |title=Rothschild: history of a London banking dynasty |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8302288/Rothschild-history-of-a-London-banking-dynasty.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8302288/Rothschild-history-of-a-London-banking-dynasty.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{Cbignore}}</ref> nevertheless, after the crisis, many country and provincial banks failed prompting numerous commercial bankruptcies.<ref name="BoEBranches" /> The passing of the [[Country Bankers Act 1826]] allowed the bank to open provincial branches for the better distribution of its banknotes (at the time small country banks, some of which were significantly [[undercapitalised]], issued their own notes); by the end of the following year eight Bank of England branches had been set up around the country.<ref name="Hennessy1992" />

[[File:Bank of England 1876.JPG|thumb|right|Bank Stock of the Bank of England, issued 25 January 1876]]
The [[Bank Charter Act 1844]] tied the issue of notes to the gold reserves and gave the Bank of England sole rights with regard to the issue of banknotes in England. Private banks that had previously had that right retained it, provided that their headquarters were outside London and that they deposited security against the notes that they issued; but they were offered inducements to relinquish this right. (The last private bank in England to issue its own notes was Thomas Fox's [[Fox, Fowler and Company]] bank in [[Wellington, Somerset|Wellington]], which rapidly expanded until it merged with Lloyds Bank in 1927. They remained legal tender until 1964. (There are nine notes left in circulation; one is housed at [[Tone Dale House]], Wellington.))

The bank acted as [[lender of last resort]] for the first time in the [[panic of 1866]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 July 2011 |title=From lender of last resort to global currency? Sterling lessons for the US dollar |url=http://www.voxeu.org/article/lender-last-resort-global-currency-sterling-lessons-dollar |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511214525/http://www.voxeu.org/article/lender-last-resort-global-currency-sterling-lessons-dollar |archive-date=11 May 2014 |access-date=8 May 2014 |website=Vox}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:Bank of England £5 note 1952.jpg|thumb|The Bank's classic white [[five pound note]] remained in circulation until 1957.]]
Until 1931 Britain was on the [[gold standard]], meaning the value of sterling was fixed by the price of gold. That year, the Bank of England had to [[Great Depression in the United Kingdom#Emergency measures|take Britain off the gold standard]] due to the effects of [[Great Depression]] spreading to Europe.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Morrison |first=James Ashley |date=2016 |title=Shocking Intellectual Austerity: The Role of Ideas in the Demise of the Gold Standard in Britain |url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/84613/2/Morrison_ShockingIntellectualAusterity_2017.pdf |url-status=live |journal=International Organization |language=en |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=175–207 |doi=10.1017/S0020818315000314 |issn=0020-8183 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104124106/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/84613/2/Morrison_ShockingIntellectualAusterity_2017.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2020 |access-date=8 September 2020 |s2cid=155189356}}</ref>

====1913 attempted bombing====
{{See also|Suffragette bombing and arson campaign}} 
[[File:London - City of London Police Museum, Suffragette bombs.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Two [[suffragette]] bombs on display at the [[City of London Police Museum]] in 2019. The bomb on the left was used in an attempted bombing outside the bank on 4 April 1913, an attack that likely would have caused many casualties had it not been foiled.]]
A [[terrorist]] bombing was attempted outside the Bank of England building on 4&nbsp;April 1913. A bomb was discovered smoking and ready to explode next to railings outside the building.<ref name="GoogleArts">{{Cite web |title=Suffragette bombings – City of London Corporation |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/suffragette-bombings/5AJygPLt7aWiKg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513092641/https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/suffragette-bombings/5AJygPLt7aWiKg |archive-date=13 May 2021 |access-date=2021-10-02 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Riddell">{{Cite book |last=Riddell |first=Fern |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQWgDwAAQBAJ |title=Death in Ten Minutes: The forgotten life of radical suffragette Kitty Marion |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4736-6621-4 |page=124 |language=en |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016131918/https://books.google.com/books?id=KQWgDwAAQBAJ |archive-date=16 October 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The bomb had been planted as part of the [[suffragette bombing and arson campaign]], in which the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] (WSPU) launched a series of politically motivated bombing and arson attacks nationwide as part of their campaign for women's suffrage.<ref name="Riddell"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Suffragettes, violence and militancy |url=https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910203912/https://www.bl.uk/votes-for-women/articles/suffragettes-violence-and-militancy |archive-date=10 September 2021 |access-date=2021-10-02 |website=The British Library}}</ref> The bomb was defused before it could detonate, in what was then one of the busiest public streets in the capital, which likely prevented many civilian casualties.<ref name="Riddell"/><ref name="Walker">{{Cite journal |last=Walker |first=Rebecca |year=2020 |title=Deeds, Not Words: The Suffragettes and Early Terrorism in the City of London |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03058034.2019.1687222 |url-status=live |journal=The London Journal |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=53–64 |doi=10.1080/03058034.2019.1687222 |issn=0305-8034 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801163307/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03058034.2019.1687222 |archive-date=1 August 2022 |access-date=2 October 2021 |s2cid=212994082}}</ref> The bomb had been planted the day after WSPU leader [[Emmeline Pankhurst]] was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for carrying out a bombing on the home of politician [[David Lloyd George]].<ref name="GoogleArts"/>

The remains of the bomb, which was built into a [[milk churn]], are now on display at the [[City of London Police Museum]].<ref name="Walker"/>

====Restructuring and rebuilding====
During the governorship of [[Montagu Norman]], from 1920 to 1944, the bank made deliberate efforts to move away from [[commercial bank]]ing and become a central bank. A later Governor, [[Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown|Robin Leigh-Pemberton]], described it as 'a time of rapid change, in which we began to move away from the clerical traditions of 200 years [...] and to accept specialisation, mechanisation and modern management disciplines'.<ref name="Hennessy1992" /> Economists and statisticians began to be employed at the bank in increasing number. In 1931 the 'Peacock Committee', set up to advise on organisational improvements, published recommendations which included the appointment of paid executive Directors (alongside the traditional non-executive members of the Court). It also recommended reconfiguration of the bank's traditional departmental structures.

[[File:Bank of England Building, City of London (Southwest View - 02).jpg|thumb|right|Baker's rebuilt bank stands behind Soane's part-preserved curtain wall.]]
The work of the bank had significantly increased since the end of the First World War, and the decision was taken to expand. Between 1925 and 1939 the bank's headquarters on Threadneedle Street were comprehensively rebuilt by [[Herbert Baker]]. (This involved the demolition of most of Sir John Soane's buildings, an act described by architectural historian [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] as "the greatest architectural crime, in the [[City of London]], of the twentieth century".)<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=Simon |title=London 1: The City of London |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1997 |isbn=0-14-071092-2 |series=Buildings of England}}</ref> Initially the plan had been to retain Soane's banking halls behind the curtain wall, but this proved challenging so they were instead demolished and rebuilt in facsimile.<ref name="Sayers1976">{{cite book |last1=Sayers |first1=R. S. |authorlink1=Richard Sidney Sayers |title=The Bank of England 1891-1944 |date=1976 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |pages=338–341}}</ref> The demolition and rebuilding took place in stages, with staff moving from one part of the building to another (or, in some cases, into temporary accommodation at [[Finsbury Circus]]). The bullion and securities remained on site throughout. During reconstruction human remains pertaining to the old churchyard of St Christopher le Stocks were exhumed and reburied at [[Nunhead Cemetery]].

[[File:Statue over the Bank of England from Tivoli Corner.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of [[Ariel (The Tempest)|Ariel]] by Charles Wheeler]]
Baker's [[steel-framed]] building stands seven storeys high, with a further three vault storeys extending below ground level. It is decorated with sculpture and bronze work by [[Charles Wheeler (sculptor)|Charles Wheeler]], plasterwork by Joseph Armitage and mosaics by [[Boris Anrep]].<ref name="Sayers1976" /> The bank today is a [[Grade I listed]] building.

1939 saw the introduction of [[Exchange Controls in the United Kingdom]] at the outbreak of the [[Second World War]]; these were administered by the bank.<ref name="Hennessy1992" /> During WWII, over 10% of the face value of circulating Pound Sterling banknotes were forgeries produced by Germany.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/history |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=www.bankofengland.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

A number of the bank's operations and staff were relocated to Hampshire for the duration of the war, including the printing works (which moved to [[Overton, Hampshire|Overton]]), the Accountant's Department (which went to [[Hurstbourne Park]]) and various other offices. Those who remained at Threadneedle Street, including the Directors, moved their offices into the underground vaults.<ref name="Hennessy1992" />

====Post-war nationalisation====
In 1946, shortly after the end of Montagu Norman's tenure, [[Bank of England Act 1946|the bank was nationalised]] by the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government. At the same time the number of Directors was reduced to sixteen (four of whom were full-time Executive Directors).<ref name="Hennessy1992" />

The bank pursued the multiple goals of Keynesian economics after 1945, especially "easy money" and low-interest rates to support aggregate demand. It tried to keep a fixed exchange rate and attempted to deal with inflation and sterling weakness by credit and exchange controls.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fforde |first=John |title=The Role of the Bank of England and Public Policy 1941–1958 |date=1992 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-39139-9 |location=Cambridge}}{{Page needed|date=April 2022}}</ref>

[[File:London skyline 5.jpg|thumb|left|Bank of England New Change (bottom right) as seen from St Paul's]]
After the war, the very large Accountant's Department (which managed the stock side of the bank) moved back to London from Hampshire. Its designated office-space at Threadneedle Street, however, had in the meantime been taken over by the Exchange Control office. The department was instead provided with temporary accommodation (once more in Finsbury Circus), pending construction of a new building, which would occupy a two-acre [[bombsite]] immediately to the east of [[St Paul's Cathedral]]. 'Bank of England New Change' was designed by Victor Heal and opened in 1957 (at the time it was London's biggest post-war rebuilding project);<ref>{{cite web |title=Bank of England New Change |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=DS%2FUK%2F618 |website=Bank of England Archive |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref> the new building contained several staff amenities alongside the office accommodation and, at street level, retail units were let to an assortment of businesses. The bank had the building on a 200-year lease; but with the advent of computerisation staff numbers were drastically reduced in the 1980s-90s; parts of the building were let to other firms (most notably the law firm [[Allen & Overy]]). The bank sold the building in 2000 and in 2007 it was demolished; [[One New Change]] now stands on the site.

The bank's "[[Bank of England 10 shilling note|10 bob note]]" was withdrawn from circulation in 1970 in preparation for [[Decimal Day]] in 1971.

[[File:United Kingdom bonds.webp|thumb|United Kingdom bonds 
{{legend-line|#012169 solid 3px|50 year}}
{{legend-line|#61D836 solid 3px|20 year}}
{{legend-line|#929292 solid 3px|10 year}}
{{legend-line|#F8BA00 solid 3px|2 year}}
{{legend-line|#C8102E solid 3px|1 year}}
{{legend-line|#FF95CA solid 3px|3 month}}
{{legend-line|#73FDEA solid 3px|1 month}}
{{see also|Inverted yield curve}}
]]
In 1977 the bank set up a wholly owned subsidiary called [[Bank of England Nominees|Bank of England Nominees Limited]] (BOEN), a now-defunct private limited company, with two of its hundred £1 shares issued. According to its memorandum of association, its objectives were: "To act as Nominee or agent or attorney either solely or jointly with others, for any person or persons, partnership, company, corporation, government, state, organisation, sovereign, province, authority, or public body, or any group or association of them". Bank of England Nominees Limited was granted an exemption by [[Edmund Dell]], Secretary of State for Trade, from the disclosure requirements under Section 27(9) of the Companies Act 1976, because "it was considered undesirable that the disclosure requirements should apply to certain categories of shareholders". The Bank of England is also protected by its [[royal charter]] status and the [[Official Secrets Act]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-07-27 |title=27 July 1694: the Bank of England is created by Royal Charter |language=en-GB |work=MoneyWeek |url=https://moneyweek.com/27-july-1694-the-bank-of-england-is-created-by-royal-charter |url-status=live |access-date=2018-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072524/https://moneyweek.com/27-july-1694-the-bank-of-england-is-created-by-royal-charter |archive-date=3 January 2018}}</ref> BOEN was a vehicle for governments and heads of state to invest in UK companies (subject to approval from the Secretary of State), providing they undertake "not to influence the affairs of the company".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proceedings of the House of Commons, 21st April 1977 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1977/apr/21/shareholdings-disclosure |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627195641/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1977/apr/21/shareholdings-disclosure |archive-date=27 June 2011 |work=[[Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=21 April 1977 |access-date=1 June 2011}}; {{Cite news |title=Horses, stamps, cars – and an invisible portfolio |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/30/jubilee.monarchy2 |location=London |work=The Guardian |date=30 May 2002 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-date=27 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927190824/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/30/jubilee.monarchy2 |url-status=live}}</ref> In its later years, BOEN was no longer exempt from company law disclosure requirements.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proceedings of the House of Lords, 26th April 2011 |url=http://services.parliament.uk/hansard/Lords/bydate/20110426/writtenanswers/part021.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122173255/http://services.parliament.uk/hansard/Lords/ByDate/20110426/writtenanswers/part021.html |archive-date=22 November 2011 |access-date=31 May 2011}}</ref> Although a [[dormant company]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bank of England Nominees Company Accounts |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/56089866/BANK-OF-ENGLAND-NOMINEES-LIMITED-Company-accounts-from-Level-Business |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201024434/https://www.scribd.com/doc/56089866/BANK-OF-ENGLAND-NOMINEES-LIMITED-Company-accounts-from-Level-Business |archive-date=1 December 2016 |access-date=8 September 2017}}</ref> dormancy does not preclude a company actively operating as a nominee shareholder.<ref>Fire example, {{Cite web |title=Nominee Service |url=http://www.pilling.com/Nominee-Service.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051438/http://www.pilling.com/Nominee-Service.htm |archive-date=25 April 2012 |access-date=12 September 2011 |publisher=Pilling & Co. Stockbrokers Ltd.}}</ref> BOEN had two shareholders: the Bank of England, and the Secretary of the Bank of England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freedom of Information Act response regarding Bank of England Nominees Limited |url=http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/28738/response/74019/attach/2/D.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828072151/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/28738/response/74019/attach/2/D.pdf |archive-date=28 August 2016 |access-date=31 May 2011}}</ref>

The [[reserve requirement]] for banks to hold a minimum fixed proportion of their deposits as reserves at the Bank of England was abolished in 1981: see {{Format link|Reserve requirement#United Kingdom}} for more details. The contemporary transition from Keynesian economics to Chicago economics was analysed by [[Nicholas Kaldor]] in ''The Scourge of Monetarism''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cj6wAAAAIAAJ |title=The Scourge of Monetarism |date=1 January 1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198771876 |access-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427043307/https://books.google.com/books?id=cj6wAAAAIAAJ |archive-date=27 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The handing over of monetary policy to the bank became a key plank of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]' economic policy for the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]].<ref>Liberal Democrat election manifesto, 1992.</ref> [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP [[Nicholas Budgen]] had also proposed this as a [[private member's bill]] in 1996, but the bill failed as it had the support of neither the government nor the opposition.

The UK government left the expensive-to-maintain [[European Exchange Rate Mechanism]] in September 1992, in an action that cost HM Treasury over £3 billion. This led to closer communication between the government and the bank.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Uk inflation history.webp|thumb|300px|right|UK inflation history since 1960 {{see also|1976 sterling crisis}}]]
In 1993, the bank produced its first ''Inflation Report'' for the government, detailing inflationary trends and pressures. This annually produced report remains one of the bank's major publications.<ref name=":0" /> The success of [[inflation target]]ing in the United Kingdom has been attributed to the bank's focus on transparency.<ref name="IMF01">{{Cite web |title=Targeting Inflation: The United Kingdom in Retrospect |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/seminar/2000/targets/strach7.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123074911/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/seminar/2000/targets/strach7.pdf |archive-date=23 January 2017 |access-date=31 October 2016 |publisher=International Monetary Fund}}</ref> The Bank of England has been a leader in producing innovative ways of communicating information to the public, especially through its Inflation Report, which many other central banks have emulated.<ref name="NBER01">{{Cite web |title=Inflation Targeting Has Been A Successful Monetary Policy Strategy |url=https://www.nber.org/digest/apr98/w6126.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031214632/http://www.nber.org/digest/apr98/w6126.html |archive-date=31 October 2016 |access-date=31 October 2016 |publisher=[[National Bureau of Economic Research]]}}</ref>

The bank celebrated its three-hundredth birthday in 1994.<ref name=":0" />

In 1996, the bank produced its first ''Financial Stability Review''. This annual publication became known as the ''Financial Stability Report'' in 2006.<ref name=":0" /> Also that year, the bank set up its [[real-time gross settlement]] (RTGS) system to improve risk-free settlement between UK banks.<ref name=":0" />

On 6 May 1997, following the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]] that brought a Labour government to power for the first time since 1979, it was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, [[Gordon Brown]], that the bank would be granted operational independence over monetary policy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sattler |first1=Thomas |last2=Brandt |first2=Patrick T. |last3=Freeman |first3=John R. |date=April 2010 |title=Democratic accountability in open economies |journal=[[Quarterly Journal of Political Science]] |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=71–97 |citeseerx=10.1.1.503.6174 |doi=10.1561/100.00009031}}</ref> Under the terms of the [[Bank of England Act 1998]] (which came into force on 1 June 1998) the bank's [[Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)|Monetary Policy Committee]] (MPC) was given sole responsibility for setting interest rates to meet the Government's [[Retail Prices Index (United Kingdom)|Retail Prices Index]] (RPI) inflation target of 2.5%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Key Monetary Policy Dates Since 1990 |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/history.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629143630/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/history.htm |archive-date=29 June 2007 |access-date=20 September 2007 |publisher=Bank of England |df=dmy}}</ref> The target has changed to 2% since the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] (CPI) replaced the Retail Prices Index as the Treasury's inflation index.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 December 2003 |title=Remit of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England and the New Inflation Target |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/pdf/chancellorletter031210.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926052337/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/pdf/chancellorletter031210.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2007 |access-date=20 September 2007 |publisher=HM Treasury}}</ref> If inflation overshoots or undershoots the target by more than 1% the Governor has to write a letter to the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] explaining why, and how he will remedy the situation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monetary Policy Framework |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/Pages/framework/framework.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104091923/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/Pages/framework/framework.aspx |archive-date=4 November 2016 |access-date=31 October 2016 |publisher=Bank of England}}</ref>

Independent central banks that adopt an inflation target are known as [[Milton Friedman|Friedmanite]] central banks. This change in Labour's politics was described by [[Robert Skidelsky|Skidelsky]] in ''The Return of the Master''<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1610390032 |title=The Return of the Master |date=2009 |publisher=Public Affairs |isbn=978-1610390033 |access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> as a mistake and as an adoption of the [[Rational expectations|rational expectations hypothesis]] as promulgated by [[Alan Walters]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walters |first=A. A. |date=June 1971 |title=Consistent expectations, distributed lags and the quantity theory |journal=[[The Economic Journal]] |volume=81 |issue=322 |pages=273–281 |doi=10.2307/2230071 |jstor=2230071}}</ref> Inflation targets combined with central bank independence have been characterised as a "starve the beast" strategy creating a lack of money in the public sector.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

in June 1998 responsibility for the regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries was transferred from the bank to the [[Financial Services Authority]]. A [[memorandum of understanding]] described the terms under which the bank, the Treasury, and the FSA would work toward the common aim of increased financial stability.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memorandum of Understanding between the HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financialstability/mou.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203101708/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financialstability/mou.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2010 |access-date=10 May 2010 |df=dmy}}</ref> (Ten years later, however, after the [[2008 financial crisis]], new banking legislation transferred the responsibility for regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries back to the Bank of England).

===21st century===
[[File:Queue for the Bank of England (9886118204).jpg|thumb|left|upright|2013: since the 18th century the bank's gatekeepers have worn 'pinks' (a livery associated with Sir John Houblon).<ref>{{cite news |title=Photos from the Bank of England's vaults |work=BBC News |date=28 January 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35370494 |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref>]]
The bank decided to sell its banknote-printing operations to [[De La Rue]] in December 2002, under the advice of Close Brothers Corporate Finance Ltd.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sale of Bank Note Printing |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2003/041.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061003100045/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2003/041.htm |archive-date=3 October 2006 |access-date=10 June 2006 |publisher=Bank of England}}</ref>

[[Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury|Mervyn King]] became the [[Governor of the Bank of England]] on 30&nbsp;June 2003.

In 2009, a request made to [[HM Treasury]] under the [[Freedom of Information Act 2000|Freedom of Information Act]] sought details about the 3% Bank of England stock owned by unnamed shareholders whose identity the bank is not at liberty to disclose.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keogh |first=Joseph |date=17 September 2009 |title=Named and unnamed shareholders of the Bank of England |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/named_and_unnamed_shareholders_o |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202223107/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/named_and_unnamed_shareholders_o |archive-date=2 February 2021 |access-date=29 December 2020 |website=What do they know}}</ref> In a letter of reply dated 15&nbsp;October 2009, HM Treasury explained that "Some of the 3% Treasury stock which was used to compensate former owners of bank stock has not been redeemed. However, interest is paid out twice a year and it is not the case that this has been accumulating and compounding."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morran |first=Paul |date=15 October 2009 |title=Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000: Bank of England Unnamed 3% Stock Holding Not Redeemed |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/18171/response/49781/attach/2/foi%20keo.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426213057/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/18171/response/49781/attach/2/foi%20keo.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |archive-date=26 April 2021 |access-date=29 December 2020 |website=What do they know}}</ref>

[[File:UK bond rates.webp|thumb|300px|UK bond rates
{{legend-line|#C8102E solid 3px|50 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#012169 solid 3px|10 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#D5D5D5 solid 3px|1 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#970E53 solid 3px|3 month bond}}
{{see also|Inverted yield curve}}
]]
In 2010, the incoming Chancellor announced his intention to merge the Financial Services Authority back into the bank. In 2011 an interim [[Financial Policy Committee]] (FPC) was created (as a mirror committee to the Monetary Policy Committee) to spearhead the bank's new mandate on financial stability. The [[Financial Services Act 2012]] gave the bank additional functions and bodies, including an independent FPC, the [[Prudential Regulation Authority (United Kingdom)|Prudential Regulation Authority]] (PRA), and more powers to supervise financial market infrastructure providers.<ref name=":0" /> It also created the independent [[Financial Conduct Authority]]. These bodies are responsible for [[macroprudential regulation]] of all UK banks and insurance companies.

Canadian [[Mark Carney]] assumed the post of [[Governor of the Bank of England]] on 1&nbsp;July 2013. He served an initial five-year term rather than the typical eight. He became the first Governor not to be a United Kingdom citizen but has since been granted citizenship.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 November 2012 |title=Mark Carney named new Bank of England governor |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20501990 |url-status=live |access-date=26 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126171027/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20501990 |archive-date=26 November 2012}}</ref> At Government request, his term was extended to 2019, then again to 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-09-11 |title=Carney to stay at Bank of England until 2020 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45482461 |url-status=live |access-date=11 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911195514/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45482461 |archive-date=11 September 2018}}</ref> {{As of|2014|1}}, the bank also had four [[Deputy Governor of the Bank of England|Deputy Governors]].

BOEN was dissolved, following liquidation, in July 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bank of England Nominees Limited – Filing history |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/01307478/filing-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201121948/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/01307478/filing-history |archive-date=1 December 2017 |access-date=30 November 2017 |publisher=Companies House}}</ref>

[[Andrew Bailey (banker)|Andrew Bailey]] succeeded Carney as the Governor of the Bank of England on 16&nbsp;March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/andrew-bailey-to-be-new-governor-of-the-bank-of-england |title=Andrew Bailey to be new Governor of the Bank of England |website=gov.uk |date=20 December 2019 |access-date=11 October 2022}}</ref>

===Asset purchase facility {{Anchor|APF|Asset purchase facility}}===
The bank has operated, since January 2009, an Asset Purchase Facility (APF) to buy "high-quality assets financed by the issue of Treasury bills and the [[Debt Management Office (United Kingdom)|DMO]]'s cash management operations" and thereby improve liquidity in the credit markets.<ref name="APF">{{Cite web |title=Asset Purchase Facility |url=http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/apf/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726113941/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/apf/index.htm |archive-date=26 July 2010 |access-date=12 August 2010 |publisher=Bank of England}}</ref> It has, since March 2009, also provided the mechanism by which the bank's policy of [[quantitative easing]] (QE) is achieved, under the auspices of the MPC. Along with managing the QE funds, which were £895 bn at peak, the APF continues to operate its corporate facilities. Both are undertaken by a subsidiary company of the Bank of England, the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund Limited (BEAPFF).<ref name="APF"/>

QE was primarily designed as an instrument of monetary policy. The mechanism required the Bank of England to purchase government bonds on the secondary market, financed by creating new [[Monetary base|central bank money]]. This would have the effect of increasing the asset prices of the bonds purchased, thereby lowering yields and dampening longer-term interest rates. The policy's aim was initially to ease liquidity constraints in the sterling reserves system but evolved into a wider policy to provide economic stimulus.

QE was enacted in six tranches between 2009 and 2020. At its peak in 2020, the portfolio totalled £895 billion, comprising £875 billion of UK government bonds and £20 billion of high-grade commercial bonds.

In February 2022, the Bank of England announced its intention to commence winding down the QE portfolio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/letter/2022/apf-letters-february-2022|title=Exchange of letters between the Governor and the Chancellor on the Asset Purchase Facility - February 2022|website=www.bankofengland.co.uk|date=23 June 2023 }}</ref> Initially this would be achieved by not replacing tranches of maturing bonds, and would later be accelerated through active bond sales.

In August 2022, the Bank of England reiterated its intention to accelerate the QE wind-down through active bond sales. This policy was affirmed in an exchange of letters between the Bank of England and the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer in September 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/letter/2022/september/quantitative-tightening-asset-sales-september-2022|title=Exchange of letters between the Governor and the Chancellor on the Asset Purchase Facility - September 2022|website=www.bankofengland.co.uk|date=23 June 2023 }}</ref> Between February 2022 and September 2022, a total of £37.1bn of government bonds matured, reducing the outstanding stock from £875.0bn at the end of 2021 to £837.9bn. In addition, a total of £1.1bn of corporate bonds matured, reducing the stock from £20.0bn to £18.9bn, with sales of the remaining stock planned to begin on 27 September.