HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Parr's Bank Limited was a bank that existed from 1782 to 1918. It was founded as Parr & Co. in
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
, then in the county of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. In 1918 it was acquired by London County and Westminster Bank, and it was thus one of the predecessors of
NatWest Group NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
.


History

Writing in 1905, William Howarth described Parr's as "one of the great amalgamating banks in the country" and "a power in the financial world". The bank's history dates back to the late eighteenth century, with a possible starting date of 1782. The first partnership was with Joseph Parr, a sugar boiler, his brother-in-law Matthew Lyon, and Walter Kerfoot, a solicitor. Partnership names changed and the firm was variously known as Parr & Co, and Parr, Lyon; more colloquially it was known as The Warrington Bank.T E Gregory, ''The Westminster Bank, through a century'', Vol. II, (1936) Parr's remained essentially a local bank with offices in
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
,
Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...
and St Helens until 1865 when it became a joint-stock bank under the name Parr's Banking Company. Helped by a series of acquisitions, including the National Bank of Liverpool, Parr's built up its presence in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
and
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
; by 1890 there were 22 branches and 21 sub-branches. The bank's most important strategic move came in 1891 when it purchased the small
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
bank of Fuller, Banbury, Nix & Co. This gave Parr's a seat on the London
Bankers' Clearing House Cheque clearing (or check clearing in American English) or bank clearance is the process of moving cash (or its equivalent) from the bank on which a cheque is drawn to the bank in which it was deposited, usually accompanied by the movement of the c ...
and, in contrast to the nearby Bank of Liverpool it immediately moved the head office down to London. With Fuller giving the bank an initial London presence, the substance was provided by the acquisition of the Alliance Bank in 1892. The Alliance Bank had emerged from the financial reconstruction which had seen it lose its
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
offices and now had 12 branches in London; in recognition of Alliance's importance the name of the bank was changed to Parr's Banking Company and the Alliance Bank. Other smaller London banks were acquired and in 1896 it bought the Consolidated Bank, only slightly smaller than the Alliance, but this time a London bank with branches in Manchester. At that point, the name was returned to Parr's Bank. The 1890s also saw Parr's embark on acquisitions in the midlands and the south west, important ones being Pare's Leicestershire Banking in 1902 and Crompton and Evans’ Union Bank of
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
in 1914. However, its most prestigious acquisition was Stuckey's Bank (1909) (the "Somersetshire Bank") which "wielded great power in the west of England and had the largest note circulation of any bank in England outside 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 Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
".


Stuckey's Bank

Samuel Stuckey was a general merchant based in Langport,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
; by the 1770s, customers depositing funds with Stuckey had given rise to the embryo banking business. By 1782 Stuckey had London agents and by 1806 banking had grown sufficiently for Stuckey to constitute it separately as the Langport Bank. Branches were immediately opened in
Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...
and
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, separately constituted to avoid the restriction on banks having no more than six partners. Following the 1826 Act, the bank was one of the first to become a joint stock bank, and the branches were formally incorporated into Stuckey's Banking Company. Over the next ten years, Stuckey's acquired seven local banks and opened an office in London. One notable member of the Bank was Walter Bagehot, later editor of
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
who was appointed the secretary to the management committee in 1855. As well as opening new branches, Stuckey's continued to make acquisitions, the last being Dunsford of Tiverton in 1883. By the time of its acquisition in 1909 Stuckey's deposits were £7 million. compared with Parr's £31 million, making the enlarged bank the sixth largest joint stock bank in England. P. T. Saunders: ''Stuckey’s Bank'' (1928)


Bought by Westminster Bank

By the outbreak of war in 1914 Parr's had almost 400 branches and sub-branches. In 1918 Parr's agreed to amalgamate with the London County and Westminster Bank. The Chairman of Parr's made the case: “We gain access to a very large area in the Home Counties. They gain a first-class introduction to Lancashire and to such leading towns in the Midlands as Leicester and Derby and a very valuable connection in the West of England.” The enlarged bank was renamed London County Westminster and Parr's Bank, until the name was shortened to
Westminster Bank Westminster Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales. It was created in 1834 as the London and Westminster Bank. It merged with the London and County Bank in 1909, after which it renamed itself the London County and W ...
Limited in 1923.


Bought by YP Group

In 2020 it was bought by YP Group who renovated the original Parr’s Bank in Warrington into a luxury boutique hotel, coffee shop and events space.


References

{{Royal Bank of Scotland Group NatWest Group Defunct banks of the United Kingdom Warrington Banks established in 1782 Banks disestablished in 1918 British companies established in 1782