Photographs of Bank staff date back to the earliest days of photography. Portraits include not only senior Directors and Governors, but also show operational tasks and different roles at the Bank over the last two centuries. They offer a rare glimpse of life at the Bank throughout the years.
A portrait of gatekeeper John Hogan taken in 1892. He wears the traditional crimson robe, and clutches a large bamboo cane with a silver head that dates back to 1697. (Archive 15A13/1/17, 1892 )
Henry Lancelot Holland was elected to the Court of Directors in 1844. He then served as Deputy Governor from 1863-64, and as Governor from 1865-66. (Archive 15A13/13/2/1, c.19th century)
The Bank of England’s Court of Directors seated in the Court Room in 1903. In the rear of the photograph, top hats can be seen lined in rows. During the rebuilding of the Bank, the Court Room was rebuilt and retained lots of similarities to its predecessor. (Archive 15A13/13/3/1, 1903)
One of a set of photographs which show Bank of England staff crowded into a courtyard to sing the national anthem on the second anniversary of the First World War. (Archive 15A13/17/2/2, 4 Aug 1916)
This photograph shows a Miss Adela Pratt wheeling war stock ledgers during the First World War. The call-up of many Bank men into the armed forces led to a great extension of women’s work, into areas previously considered too demanding both physically and mentally. (Archive 15A13/3/2, 1918)
Montagu Norman is currently the Bank’s longest serving Governor. He became Governor in 1920 until his retirement at the age of 73 years in 1944. Norman was instrumental in rebuilding the international monetary system following the First World War, and also for overseeing the Bank’s transition from a private bank. His diaries are available to read online. (Archive STAFF N12)
A member of Bank staff operating the counter of the In-Teller’s Office where silver was exchanged for £1 notes. Note the scales for weighing silver to the left of the counter. (Archive 15A13/1/1/8/18, 1942)
A working vault in the Bullion Office in 1942 where staff operated machinery to cut pieces of gold. (Archive 15A13/1/1/8/18, 1942)
Harry N. Eccleston, bank note designer and artist, was part of the Bank Note Design Section when it was set up in 1956 as part of a larger Research Section in the Printing Works. Eccleston went on to design the Series D ‘portrait’ notes, which were first issued in 1970. (Archive 15A13/6/2/2/35, 1965)
This page was last updated 17 February 2023