Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
BANK OF ENGLAND
Threadneedle St Bank 020 7601 5545,
www.bankofengland.co.uk
.Mon-Fri 10am-5pm.Free.
MAP
Established in 1694 by William III to raise funds for the war against France, the Bank of
England stores the official gold reserves of many of the world's central banks. All that re-
mains of the original building, on which John Soane spent the best part of his career (from
1788 onwards), is the windowless outer curtain wall, which wraps itself round the 3.5-acre
island site. However, you can view a reconstruction of Soane's Bank Stock Office, with its
characteristic domed skylight, in the
museum
(free), which has its entrance on Bartho-
lomew Lane. The permanent exhibition here includes a scaled-down model of Soane's bank
and a Victorian-style diorama of the night in 1780 when the bank was attacked by rioters.
Sadly most of the gold bars are fakes, but there are specimens of every note issued by the
Bank over the centuries.
