Gurney's bank was a family-run bank founded by members of the Gurney family in 1770 and headquartered in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It merged into

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

in 1896.

History

The bank was founded in 1770 by John and Henry Gurney, sons of John Gurney (1688–1741), who passed the business to Henry's son, Bartlett Gurney, in 1777. The bank was founded in what is now known as ''Bank Plain'' (formerly Redwell Street). The

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

Gurneys were renowned for their honesty, reliability, and fair dealings — so people entrusted them their money for safe keeping. About 1777,

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

Poole, a wine merchant, sold Bartlett Gurney premises near to the red well, and Gurney installed safes for bullion. A junior clerk slept on the trapdoor to the vaults to safeguard the valuables. The bank issued its own notes. A

bull mastiff The Bullmastiff is a British breed of dog of mastiff type and large size, with a solid build and a short muzzle. It was developed as a guard dog in the nineteenth century by cross-breeding the English Mastiff with the now-extinct Old English Bu ...

(complete with brass collar) stood on guard inside the doors at the Bank Plain premises, and there was always a

blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly cons ...

at the ready. Bartlett Gurney died in 1802, without a male heir, in Norwich. He was succeeded in control of the bank by his cousins, including John Gurney, whose children included the banker Samuel Gurney. On his father's death in 1809, Samuel Gurney assumed the control of the Norwich bank. About the same time, he also took over the control of the London billbroking business of Richardson, Overend & Company, in which he was already a partner. The title of the firm was subsequently changed to Overend, Gurney and Company, and for forty years it was the greatest discounting house in the world. Samuel Gurney died in 1856. In 1865, the business of Overend, Gurney & Company, which had come under less competent control, went public as a

joint stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders a ...

, but in 1866 the firm suspended payment with liabilities amounting to £11,000,000 Sterling. The failure of that bank ruined a number of the Gurneys, as well as numerous investors. The Norwich bank, however, escaped significant damage to its business and reputation from the collapse of the cousins' business. ''The Times'' stated, shortly after the suspension: "It is understood that the suspension of Overend, Gurney & Co will not in the slightest degree compromise Gurney's Bank of Norwich. That establishment recently passed into the hands of new partners, whose resources are beyond all question". The Gurney family was known for its wealth; in

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's 1875

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a n ...

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

'', a character describes his accumulation of wealth until he "became as rich as the Gurneys". In 1896, Gurney's Bank merged with

Backhouse's Bank Backhouse's Bank of Darlington (James & Jonathan Backhouse and Co., from 1798 Jonathan Backhouse and Co.) was founded in 1774 by James Backhouse (1720-1798), a wealthy Quaker flax dresser and linen manufacturer, and his sons Jonathan (1747-1826) a ...

of Darlington and

of London and several other provincial banks, controlled by Quaker families, to form what is now Barclays Bank.

References

External links

Archives of Gurney's & Company, Norwich, 1775-1896
at archives hub {{Barclays Defunct banks of the United Kingdom 1770 establishments in England Banks established in 1770 Companies based in Norwich History of Norfolk Banks disestablished in 1896 History of Norwich 1896 disestablishments in England Gurney family British companies disestablished in 1896

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links