Abraham Newland (c. 1730 – 21 November 1807) was the chief

cashier A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store. The most common use of the title is in the retail industry, but this job title is also used in the ...

at the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

from 1782 to 1807. The expression "an Abraham Newland" came to mean a

bank note A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

, because without his

signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

, a Bank of England note was not negotiable.William Rose Benet, ''The Reader's Encyclopedia'', 1948, ''s.v.'' "Abraham Newland". Abraham was the son of William Newland and Anne Arnold. His father was a Southwark baker.'Highbury, Upper Holloway and King's Cross', Old and New London: Volume 2 (1878), pp. 273-79
British History
Date accessed: 15 May 2007. He slept in the Bank of England itself for 25 years, so he was largely a stranger to his own house adjoining

Highbury Fields Highbury Fields is an open space in Highbury, in the London Borough of Islington. At 11.75 hectares (29 acres), it is the largest open space in the borough. It extends north from Highbury Corner almost as far as Highbury Barn. As well as parkla ...

. When he resigned in 1807, he declined an annuity but accepted a 1000-guinea service of plate. When he died, he bequeathed many legacies to various family members, including Edmund Edwin, Yeoman Gentleman of Aldbury. He made his money mostly by speculating in shares of loans to the government, as a private investor. He is perhaps best known among collectors of trivia for his self-written epitaph: "Beneath this stone old Abraham lies; / Nobody laughs, and nobody cries. / Where he has gone, and how he fares / Nobody knows and nobody cares."

References

* ''The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable''. * ''The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities'', Robert Chambers, 1832. English bankers 1730 births 1807 deaths 18th-century English people 19th-century English people Economic history of England Former banknote issuers of the United Kingdom Chief Cashiers of the Bank of England {{UK-gov-bio-stub