Barclays traces its ancestry back to two goldsmith bankers, John Freame and Thomas Gould, who were doing business in Lombard Street, London in 1690. In 1736, Freame’s son, Joseph took his brother-in-law, James Barclay on as a partner, and the name has remained a constant presence in the business ever since.
Barclays was built over centuries. Our longevity is an extraordinary achievement, especially against the backdrop of multiple financial crises, international conflicts, and the agricultural, industrial and now technological revolutions.
This story is best told through our rich archive of photographs, ledgers, letters, minute books, equipment and a range of, in some cases unexpected, curiosities housed in the Barclays Group Archives in Manchester, UK. The material in these archives is unique, irreplaceable and priceless. They don’t just tell the story of Barclays’ businesses around the world, they also communicate the strength and depth of the Values that have underpinned Barclays from the very beginning.
And it’s not just the story of a bank – it is the story of the communities that we serve, as well as our colleagues, our buildings, and our products. The archives allow us to share those stories.
East Anglia has long been a Barclays heartland, nurturing the Gurney family of banks since the mid 18th century. The Gurneys proved pivotal in the establishment of Barclays as we know it today. The banks founded by the Gurneys, alongside Barclays, Buxtons, Birkbecks and others provided the foundations for today’s bank
Barclays inherited several long-established branches in Northamptonshire from smaller banks that came into the Barclays group, mostly from the successful Stamford, Spalding & Boston Banking Company (‘SS&B’) which merged with Barclays in 1911
In 1916, Barclays acquired the United Counties Bank, thereby securing a substantial presence in the Midlands. This was one of the more significant of a rapid series of acquisitions made by Barclays between its formation as a limited company in 1896, and the check on banking mergers declared by the Treasury in 1920. These acquisitions enabled Barclays to become one of the ‘Big Five’ clearing banks, with national coverage
Barclays has a rich and long history in London, dating back to the 17th century. John Freame, to whom Barclays' history is usually traced, traded as a goldsmith in Lombard Street from 1690 with Thomas Gould. The 'Barclay' names entered the business in 1736 when James Barclay, who had married John Freame's daughter Sarah, joined the partnership and his name took precedence
Barclays’ roots in the region go back to Jonathan Backhouse and Company (established 1774), one of the principal partners in the 1896 amalgamation which established Barclays as a joint-stock limited company. Other north-eastern banks that joined the Barclays Group soon after 1896 were Woods and Company of Newcastle (founded 1859), Swaledale and Wensleydale Banking Company (founded c.1806), and J and JW Pease of Darlington (founded 1820)
Barclays opened its first corporate banking office at Belfast in 1996, intended to provide services to local, British and international customers. The office was co-located with that of Barclays’ Mercantile subsidiary, which already operated a small office providing leasing and hire finance for corporate customers
Barclays opened a state-of-the-art computer centre in Wythenshawe, Manchester in 1971. The 110,000 sq ft building cost £2.75 million and was the largest commercial computer centre in Britain. It served 900 branches across the north of England, managing more than 2.25 million customer accounts
The first member of the Barclay family to be involved in banking was James Barclay, the son of a Scotsman. In 1733 James married the daughter of John Freame, a goldsmith who traded in London’s Lombard Street. John Freame was also a partner in a banking business which had developed from his trade and which began operating from the Lombard Street premises in 1690. In 1736 James became a partner in this firm, from which Barclays Bank Plc traces its origins
Barclays was first represented in Kent with the opening of a branch in Tunbridge Wells in around 1817. Unfortunately, we do not have a precise opening date but there is an entry in J Sprance's "Tunbridge Wells Guide" for 1817 which reads "Hurly, Molineux, Whitfield and Dicker, Lewes Old Bank in the Pantiles". The Bank's agent was John Nash who also ran the library and post office
The Consolidated Bank of Cornwall amalgamated with Barclays and Co in 1905. The Consolidated Bank was a combination of a number of Cornish banks and had come into being between 1889-1896
Barclays’ earliest origins in Wales go back to 1827 and a bank established in Haverfordwest by John and William Walters. They went on to open branches in Narbeth, Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock, before being taken over by the London and Provincial Bank in 1872. Not too far away, the bank of Lock, Hulm and Co was established in Pembroke in 1834, and had also opened a branch in Tenby before it was taken over by the Bank of Wales in 1864
Barclays first entered Yorkshire directly from 1896 onwards, but had been acting as London agents for a number of Yorkshire banks before this e.g. Scarborough Old Bank, Roper & Priestman, Leatham & Tew; and for Backhouses. A number of the constituent Yorkshire banks go back to the late-18th century, the earliest of these being Pease and Co. of Hull, founded in 1754, the second-oldest provincial bank in the Barclays group
1937: Barclays' first coat of arms
1967: UK's first cash machine
1975: South West Face of Everest
1977: Introducing personal bankers
1987: The UK's first debit card
Barclays: A British Champion
Barclays business can be traced back to two Quakers called John Freame and Thomas Gould, who established themselves as goldsmith bankers in Lombard Street in the City of London in 1690. Their business flourished, helped in no small part by its Quaker connections. They financed Quaker traders in the new colonies in America and the Caribbean, they helped to finance the Pennsylvania Land Company, and they were actively involved in Quaker-dominated companies like the London Lead Company and the Welsh Copper Company.
The latter produced silver as a by-product, which Freame and Gould sold to the Royal Mint. They were also the closest thing the Quakers had to an official banker, holding the Society Of Friends' central funds (known as the national stock). In 1695, this amounted to £1,100.
Beyond his bank, John Freame was a very well-respected and influential character. He served as clerk to the Yearly Meeting (the Quakers' annual gathering attended by local representatives from all over the country), and published a book called 'Scripture Instruction' which was used in Quaker schools. He also campaigned for greater toleration for the Quakers, achieving the right to make an affirmation rather than swear an oath, and the right to be prosecuted before magistrates rather than in the church courts.
In 1728, Freame’s son, Joseph, became a partner in the bank, and John Freame began a gradual process of retirement. James Barclay joined the firm in 1733, having married Freame’s daughter, Sarah. James was the son of David Barclay by his first wife, Ann. Following the death of Ann, David Barclay married Freame’s elder daughter Priscilla in 1723. This rather complicated state of affairs meant that James Barclay's stepmother was also his sister-in-law, but is quite typical of the way the Quakers ran their lives and businesses. Family, religious and business ties were inextricably linked.
James Barclay had a strong business and Quaker background. His grandfather, Robert Barclay, was known as 'The Apologist' because he wrote a book explaining the Quakers' beliefs, entitled, 'Apology For The True Christian Divinity'
Although David Barclay Senior did not become a partner in the bank, his sons by his second wife (and, therefore, John Freame’s grandsons), David Barclay the younger and John Barclay did. By this time, the partners were amassing fortunes which may have seemed at odds with the Quaker principles of simple and plain living, but it is important to remember that a Quaker who went bankrupt was disowned by the Society.
While the fear of bankruptcy may have spurred the Barclays on to ever greater profitability, they still had not lost sight of other Quaker virtues. David Barclay the younger, who became a partner in the bank in 1776, was a very active Quaker.
A keen supporter of the emancipation campaigner Wiilliam Willberforce, he used his influence to persuade other Quakers to take a stronger stand for the abolition of slavery. Later, David Barclay found himself the owner of a slave plantation in Jamaica in settlement of a debt. His decision to free the slaves and transport them to Philadelphia cost him £3,000.
Barclay was also well-respected in the wider community. A close friend of Benjamin Franklin, he attempted to mediate between the rebellious colonists in America and the British government in 1774 and 1775. He must have suspected the worst, however, because he had been redirecting his own business interests away from North America for some time. It would appear that even the span of the Atlantic Ocean could not disrupt Quaker business connections - the large number of Friends who settled in America made sure that their British cousins were kept well informed.
Beyond London
While banks in London were thriving, banking in the rest of England was only just beginning. One of the earliest 'country banks' in Barclays history is that established in 1744 by Samuel Alexander in Needham Market in Suffolk. Alexander was a Quaker merchant with interests in the iron and corn trade.
In what was to become a regular pattern in rural areas and market towns all over England, Alexander was perceived by his customers to be a trustworthy, reliable and relatively wealthy man, so they felt happy entrusting their money to his care. His faith undoubtedly played an important part in forming this opinion, and it also meant that he had access to the Friends' business network, so was able to call upon the Barclays to act as his London agent.
Alexander's went on to merge with Gurney’s, the biggest country bank to take part in the 1896 amalgamation. The Gurney business began with the Norwich and Norfolk bank, opened by Quaker brothers, John and Henry Gurney on 13 May 1775. They had made their money as worsted, linen and yarn merchants.
As banking became more profitable than cloth, their business expanded and they established partnerships in Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn, Wisbech, Fakenham, Ipswich, Colchester and Halesworth. By 1838, the Gurneys were described as 'exercising an influence and a power inferior to that of no banking establishment in Great Britain - that of the Bank of England alone excepted'.
Like many successful Quakers, some of the Gurneys found it difficult to reconcile their faith with their wealth. Joseph John Gurney chose to become a ‘plain Friend’, dedicating his life to his bank, his religion and good causes. Like his sister, Elizabeth Fry, he campaigned for prison reform.
He also campaigned against slavery, and in 1837 went on a three year ministering tour of the West Indies and America, giving away one third of his share of the Bank's profits for the duration. He was a renowned Quaker author - his 1824 work, 'Observations on the Religious Peculiarities of the Society Of Friends'; was reprinted many times. His attitude is exemplified by his statement:
'I suppose my leading outward object in life may be said to be the bank. While i am a banker the bank must be attended to. It is obviously the religious duty of a trustee to so large an amount to be diligent in watching his trust.'
The Gurney name is also famous for its involvement in Overend, Gurney and Company, a firm of London bill brokers which failed spectacularly in 1866, prompting a financial crisis. Although members of the Gurney family were implicated and affected by the failure, the Gurneys’ East Anglian banks came through remarkably unscathed, due mainly to quick thinking and shrewd judgement by their Barclay cousins.
By injecting new capital and new partners into the Norwich Bank, they effectively distanced it from the bill broking business just one month before it crashed. While the very public failure of one Quaker business was highly regrettable, it had clearly been beyond saving, and ruthless action had been needed to prevent other businesses going down with Overend, Gurney and Company.
