The Bank of England - the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street - has played a crucial, if sometimes little understood role in the life of the nation for over 300 years. Financer of wars, issuer of notes, lender of last resort, watchdog of the City, and most recently as a powerful shaper of economic policy - in all these roles its actions and decisions have had far-reaching consequences. Here, a distinguished group of historians and economists with first-hand knowledge of the Bank's past and present provides an authoritative and readable assessment of the major themes in the Bank's history: its relationship with government; its impact on the British economy; its position in the City of London; and its role in the international banking and monetary system. We are also given an insight into the evolution of a uniquely British institution, its management, and some of the most colourful and influential figures associated with it, such as Montagu Norman, the commanding figure who was Governor from 1920-44. To bring the picture up to the present Rupert Pennant-Rea outlines the contemporary challenges of independence, restructuring, and European Monetary development. Added value is given by two main appendices: a detailed chronology of the Bank's history; and a comprehensive listing of its governors, directors, and senior officials.
Richard Roberts is the author of the history of Schroders, and the editor of a series of studies of international financial centres. David Kynaston is the author of histories of the Financial Times, Cazenove, and the City of London.
Show moreThe Bank of England - the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street - has played a crucial, if sometimes little understood role in the life of the nation for over 300 years. Financer of wars, issuer of notes, lender of last resort, watchdog of the City, and most recently as a powerful shaper of economic policy - in all these roles its actions and decisions have had far-reaching consequences. Here, a distinguished group of historians and economists with first-hand knowledge of the Bank's past and present provides an authoritative and readable assessment of the major themes in the Bank's history: its relationship with government; its impact on the British economy; its position in the City of London; and its role in the international banking and monetary system. We are also given an insight into the evolution of a uniquely British institution, its management, and some of the most colourful and influential figures associated with it, such as Montagu Norman, the commanding figure who was Governor from 1920-44. To bring the picture up to the present Rupert Pennant-Rea outlines the contemporary challenges of independence, restructuring, and European Monetary development. Added value is given by two main appendices: a detailed chronology of the Bank's history; and a comprehensive listing of its governors, directors, and senior officials.
Richard Roberts is the author of the history of Schroders, and the editor of a series of studies of international financial centres. David Kynaston is the author of histories of the Financial Times, Cazenove, and the City of London.
Show moreIntroduction
1: Bowen: The Bank of England in the 18th Century
2: Kynaston: The Bank of England and the Government
3: Cairncross: The Bank of England and the British Economy
4: Cotterell: The Bank of England and International Central Banking
1694-1970
5: Pringle: The Bank of England and International Central Banking
1970-1994
6: Roberts: The Bank of England and the City of London
7: Hennessy: The Governors, Directors, and Manahement of the Bank
of England
8: Pennant Rea: The Bank of England: Yesterday, Today and
Tomorrow
Appendix 1: Chronology 1694-1994
Appendix 2: Governors, Directors and Senior Officials 1694-1994
Appendix 3: Sayer on the Bank Rate
A landmark assessment of a unique institution
Richard Roberts is the author of the history of Schroders, and the editor of a series of studies of international financial centres. David Kynaston is the author of histories of the Financial Times, Cazenove, and the City of London.
`Includes a fascinating table depicting the rise of the state
machine this century.'
The Guardian
`The book is generated by a backwrd-looking event, a conference to
mark last year's celebration of the bank's 300th anniversary. But
the essays tingle with forward-looking speculation- will the Old
Lady of Threadneedle Street finally break free from the bad company
of politicians? It is rare for a collection of essays to offer such
a rich diet, a tribute to the editors' skill.'
Financial Times
`The preface and introduction to this collection of essays...which
includes several interesting, well-written and worthwhile
contributions.'
The Tablet
`Accessible survey of three centuries of the Bank's history.'
Times Literary Supplement
`Provides an excellent historical summary.'
Times Higher Education Supplement
`A distinguished group of historians and economists provide an
authoritative assessment of the major themes in the bank's
history.'
Business Horizons
`This wide-ranging institutional survey will be useful to readers
interested in British economic history or banking.'
Choice
`The authors have ... provided a refreshing variety of
retrospectives on different sub-periods of the Bank's 300 years and
on different aspects of its evolution as a central bank.'
The Economic History Review
`The book is beautifully produced ... in one good-sized volume
there is here an excellent coverage of the origins, growth, and
development of the Bank which draws on archives not previously
exploited. It is a fitting commemorative volume for the Bank's
300th anniversary.'
Business History
`The very praiseworthy ambition of the editors and organisers seems
to have been to provide as much coverage as possible of the Bank's
history in both its domestic and international setting from its
founding to the present day - and to do this thematically ... The
book is beautifully produced ... in one good-sized volume there is
here an excellent coverage of the origins, growth, and development
of the Bank which draws on archives not previously exploited.
It is a fitting commemorative volume for the Bank's 300th
anniversary.'
Business History
`It is to the credit of the editors and the contributors that it
represents both a celebration and a serious scholarly analysis of
the Bank over the past three centuries ... This book makes two
important contributions to understanding this debate. On the one
hand, it provides an extremely valuable perspective on how the Bank
of England has come to occupy such a critical and influential
position in the British economy over the whole of its history. On
the
other, it underlines how much the Bank's role has altered since
Norman became Governor.'
Business Archives Sources and History
`this is a serious and scholarly book aimed at the specialist and
not the general reader ... There is no shortage of good histories
of the Bank of England, but no scholarly ones roam over long
periods and analyse long-term developments in the context of
specific influences exerted upon the Bank by external forces. This
is the task of this book and it is achieved with distinction within
200 pages which is no mean feat; the contributors know their stuff
... a
remarkably good, useful and ambitious book. The publishers have
also done a good job for the relatively modest cover price.'
John Orbell, Financial History Review, Vol 3 1996
`All of the chapters can be read for substantial intellectual
profit and it would be invidious to highlight individual
contributions ... the editors are to be congratulated for
assembling an excellent team of authors who, collectively, have
produced an indispensable work of scholarship on a critically
important national institution.'
The Historical Associaton
`It succeeds in demystifying many of the Bank's more arcane
activities and, in taking the long view, it does offer a different
perspective on the Bank's evolution than was available before ... a
considerable addition to our understanding of the financial history
of modern Britain.'
English Historical Review
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