C C Wetton, Egham

For over fifty years there was only one bank in Egham, although its history remains obscure. In 1823 Champion Constable Wetton was a banker, bookseller and printer in Egham. In 1860, his banking business came under the charge of the Mangles Bros (West Surrey Bank) and was re-established in 1864 as the South Eastern Banking Co Ltd. In the same year, however, the bank amalgamated with Burgess and Company of Ramsgate to create the English Joint Stock Bank Ltd. Unfortunately, the bank failed on 'Black Friday,' 11 May 1866 (a casualty of the collapse of Overend, Gurney & Co), and as a result Thomas Ashby and Co acquired the business, probably via La Coste and Co of Chertsey. This bank is documented in Group Archives by a single example of cheque.