The Llandovery Bank was established in 1799 in Llandovery, Wales, in the premises known as the King’s Head on Stone Street (comprising the rear range of the present building),Lloyd., T., Orbach., J., Scourfield, R., 2006, Pevsner Architectural Guides, The Buildings of Wales, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, Yale University Press where it remained for many years. The bank was locally known as the ‘Black Ox Bank’ (‘Banc yr Eidon’ in the Welsh language) because of the bank notes having been embellished with an engraving on the left hand side of a Welsh black ox.Early Banks in West Wales, by Francis Green (in West Wales Historical Records, The Annual Magazine of

The Historical Society of West Wales ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, Volume VI, edited by Francis Green, Printed by W. Spurrell & Son, 1916)

Establishment and ownership

The bank’s founder was David Jones, a farmer’s son, who started business at age 15 years. He became a drover,Carmarthenshire snippets...
, retrieved 26 September 2009 and later married Anne, the daughter of Rhys Jones of Cilrhedin, who brought with her a fortune of £10,000. This, together with the money he had already made, enabled David Jones to found Llandovery Bank, when he was around 40 years old. He had two sons, Evan (who died unmarried, in 1820) and John (who died in 1813). David Jones died in 1839, having amassed a fortune of £140,000, and the provisions of his will provided for the bank to be continued by his grandsons (the sons of John Jones). The eldest grandson, also called David Jones, continued the Llandovery Bank, and his brothers William and John, respectively, founded branches at Lampeter and Llandeilo, under the title ‘ David Jones & Co.’. On the death of the three brothers, the three banks, and their sub-branches, became the property of Gerwyn Jones, the son of David Jones and, in 1903, upon the death of Gerwyn Jones, the banks were devised to Mrs Mary Eleanor Geraldine Davies-Evans. In 1909 the goodwill of the banks was sold to Lloyds Bank Ltd., thus ending the existence of the last of the surviving private bank in West Wales.

Size of the bank

The Black Ox Bank was one of the earliest banks established in Carmarthenshire, and had more branches than any other private bank of its period in the county. The branch at Llandeilo was established by 1842, and by 1887 had moved into a purpose-built building, by J Calder of London, a plain but substantial building with iron-bound doors, denoting security. The original banking hall and vaults remain, and the building is now the office of a financial services company.Llandeilo / The Black Ox Bank
, retrieved 26 September 2009 The former ‘Nag’s Head’ hotel, to the left of the bank, was owned by the bank and remodelled in 1887, ‘to be convenient to those waiting to do business’. There was probably no bank of its era which enjoyed more local credit than the Black Ox Bank and it is said that, in the Panic of 1825, when there was a run on many banks across the country, a timid client entered the Black Ox Bank to withdraw his money. The bank, in anticipation of a run against it, had just received a consignment of

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 ...

notes, and the cashier, on receiving the cheque, handed over to the client Bank of England bank notes for the amount. The depositor, however, refused to accept the notes tendered and demanded instead, notes of the Black Ox Bank.

Bank notes

It is not known what denominations of notes the bank issued but, from the existing specimens available, however, it is certain that notes were issued for £1, £2, £5, £5 5s., and £20, each bearing a black ox in the left hand corner. Public confidence in the Bank made it a popular target for counterfeiters from an early date, and some

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

notes have also survived.

Other Carmarthenshire banks

Other Carmarthenshire banks include

Llanelly Bank Llanelly Bank was a 19th-century bank based in the Welsh town of Llanelli. The bank used the then-standard Anglicised spelling of the town's name. History Little is known about the history of Llanelly Bank. However, the House of Lords Sessional Pa ...

David Morris & Sons David Morris & Sons was a bank which was established in Carmarthenshire, Wales in the 18th century. It now a constituent part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. History David Morris was born around 1745-6 and was the son of David Morris of th ...

Carmarthen Bank Carmarthen Bank was a bank established and formerly operated in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales during the 19th century. It became bankrupt in 1832 and its name was then adopted by another Carmarthenshire-based bank. History This bank was ...

Carmarthen Furnace Bank The Carmarthen Furnace Bank is a bank established in Carmarthenshire in the 18th century as a result of the efforts of a Welsh entrepreneur and businessman called John Morgan. The banking business started by issuing tokens to facilitate an iron an ...

and Marten & Co.

References

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External links