Warwick & Leamington Spa Banking Company Records

Records of Warwick & Leamington Spa Banking Company relating to the foundation and operation of the Bank and its amalgamation with Lloyds Bank, including:

• Establishment (1834-1844): original deeds of settlement;
• Operation (1858-1860): licences to issue banknotes, list of shareholders, customer incidental papers;
• Amalgamation (1866): letter from directors to shareholders, terms of arrangement, lists of branch debtors, abstracts from balance sheet and profit and loss accounts.
• General (1835-1848): appeal to shareholders and poster warning of forged five-pound notes.

Foundation

This bank was established in 1834 through the reorganisation into a joint-stock bank of Dawes, Tomes & Russell, a private bank established in 1791 and known as The Warwick Old Bank. The first manager was Henry Summerfield, an old Army man, son of a Coventry brewer and grandson of Sampson Lloyd III.

Expansion

With offices in Warwick, Leamington and Stratford-upon-Avon, the business carried on with little change for thirty-two years and did not engage in significant expansion.

Takeover

The Warwick & Leamington Banking Company in 1866 found its position very like that of a private bank: a small body of shareholders could find no likely successors to the elderly directors. As a result, Lloyds acquired the business in 1866. Thomas Heath, a solicitor in Warwick and director of Warwick & Leamington Banking Company, was appointed director on amalgamation.

Access is by appointment only, and at the discretion of the Archivist. Please e-mail archives@lloydsbanking.com for further information.

Item level catalogue available - please e-mail archives@lloydsbanking.com for further details.