Early Goslings cheque

This is one of the earliest cheques in the Archives. Cheques began as simple handwritten orders to pay, and in this example, Edward Pryce, esq. is writing to his banker Abraham Fowler, 'att the three squirrells in Fleet Street,' asking for the sum of £228 to be paid to William Smith. He signs his cheque 'your humble servant.' This is the bank that came to be known as Goslings, at 19 Fleet Street (Barclays' oldest branch), the ledgers for which survive miraculously between 1717 and 1896. This transaction can therefore be cross-checked, and it duly appears on the debit side in Edward Pryce's account, being entered in the ledger on 5th September. Gunley Hall is at Forden near Welshpool, and Edward Price of Gunley is listed as High Sheriff for the old county of Montgomeryshire for the year 1734.