Virtuous Bankers - by Anne Murphy

About the Book

"In March 1784 a Committee of Inspection completed a yearlong examination of the Bank of England following calls for economic reform in the light of disruption in the Empire, recession at home, and a rising tide of public debt. Drawing on the minute books of this inspection and numerous other original sources, Virtuous Bankers follows a day in the life of the Bank of England, beginning as the gates open at dawn and continuing through a 24-hour cycle focussing on the clerks and all those who managed the daily business of banking. The book covers the full range of the Bank's daily activities, from the quiet mundanities of Clerks issuing notes and keeping ledgers to the noise and chaos of the financial market and the threat from rioting crowds. This book reveals not only the inner workings of the Bank, but also increases our understanding of the emergence of the service sector, the nature and value of human capital, and debates about the causes of the industrial revolution. The narrative explores the practicalities of the business of banking from the manufacture of banknotes and the discounting of bills of exchange to the maintenance of accounts. Murphy positions the Bank as part of the physical and cultural landscape of the City, as an aggressive property developer shaping its environment to suit its business model, as a vulnerable institution seeking to secure its buildings, and as a public institution which needed to be accessible and developed an aesthetic that spoke of its service to the state and the public. Murphy explains why the Bank, while privately owned by and operated for the benefit of its shareholders came to be thought of as 'a great engine of state' and how this private organisation became the guardian of the public credit upon which was based the economic and geopolitical strength of Britain during the long eighteenth century"--

Book Synopsis

An intimate account of the eighteenth-century Bank of England that shows how a private institution became "a great engine of state"

The eighteenth-century Bank of England was an institution that operated for the benefit of its shareholders--and yet came to be considered, as Adam Smith described it, "a great engine of state." In Virtuous Bankers, Anne Murphy explores how this private organization became the guardian of the public credit upon which Britain's economic and geopolitical power was based. Drawing on the voluminous and detailed minute books of a Committee of Inspection that examined the Bank's workings in 1783-84, Murphy frames her account as "a day in the life" of the Bank of England, looking at a day's worth of banking activities that ranged from the issuing of bank notes to the management of public funds.

Murphy discusses the bank as a domestic environment, a working environment, and a space to be protected against theft, fire, and revolt. She offers new insights into the skills of the Bank's clerks and the ways in which their work was organized, and she positions the Bank as part of the physical and cultural landscape of the City: an aggressive property developer, a vulnerable institution seeking to secure its buildings, and an enterprise necessarily accessible to the public. She considers the aesthetics of its headquarters--one of London's finest buildings--and the messages of creditworthiness embedded in that architecture and in the very visible actions of the Bank's clerks. Murphy's uniquely intimate account shows how the eighteenth-century Bank was able to deliver a set of services that were essential to the state and commanded the confidence of the public.

Review Quotes

"A highly readable, bottom-up account of the Bank of England's operations towards the end of the 18th century. Murphy makes a day in the life of the bank come alive with its descriptions of street life in London and the navigation of bank clerks in the city and within the bank's public spaces and private corridors."---Jane Knodell, Central Banking

"Murphy has produced an impressive historical study of the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street that makes a compelling case for why this particular period in its history is so important. Her book will be of interest not only to specialists, but also to anyone interested in how Britain's financial system evolved."---Matthew Partridge, Money Week

"Well-researched. . . . Murphy's history is unique."---Kofi Adjepong-Boateng, Financial Times

"[Virtuous Bankers] is compelling and lively, and will please both academic and general readers. . . . Murphy's thorough research sets a high standard for future work in this field."---Perry Gauci, Literary Review

"[Murphy] excels in putting this microhistory in the larger context of the bank's relationship with the British state and British economic history. . . . By situating the Bank of England in the contexts of London and Britain at large, Murphy paints it a lively, much-needed, and three-dimensional portrait that uncovers the unknown corners of this well-known bank."---Zhihui Zou, World History Encyclopedia

"A Financial Times Book to Read in 2023"

"Fascinating. . . . [Murphy] makes the technicalities of financial history accessible and personal."---Martin Daunton, BBC History Magazine

"This is a model of economic history, acute, profound and diverting."---Ferdinand Mount, London Review of Books

"Brilliant."---Jesse Norman, The Spectator

"The modus operandi of the Bank of England is described assiduously in [this] delightful new book."-- "Grant's Interest Rate Observer"

"Murphy turns what could have been a dry bureaucratic history into a fascinating and engaging read. Above all, her book highlights the value of approaching the big questions in economic history with a sensitivity to the routines and rhythms of everyday life."---James Taylor, History Today

About the Author

Anne L. Murphy is professor of history and deputy vice-chancellor (education) at the University of Portsmouth. Before joining academia, she worked for twelve years in the City of London trading interest rate and foreign exchange derivatives. She is the author of The Origins of English Financial Markets.