6. THE BANK OF
ENGLAND MUSEUM
— All that glitters —
—
Open: Mon-Fri: 10AM-5PM
Admission: free
Threadneedle Street separates the Royal Exchange from the Bank of England building. The Bank has been home to many secrets over its almost 300 years at this location. One of its best secrets is its little, entertaining museum, accessed from an alleyway around back of the bank. From the Royal Exchange walk northeast up Threadneedle Street one-half block. Cross Threadneedle Street at Bartholomew Lane. Walk up Bartholomew Lane on the left (west) side of the street. The Bank of England Museum entrance is mid-way up the block, and poorly marked.
If you find the entrance you may also find you have this gem of a small museum to yourself. Using conventional and unconventional displays, the Bank of England Museum traces the history of the Bank from its 1694 beginnings to today. The Bank of England may not seem a topic of interest to children, but its museum (free admission; no photography) invites kids to test their strength lifting gold bars, grabs their imaginations with old bank security weapons including pikes and muskets, and stimulates their laughter with humorous statuary that are 3D caricatures. Among artifacts on display are Roman pottery and mosaics uncovered when the Bank was rebuilt in 1930 and documents from past Bank customers including George Washington.
Like trivia? This museum provides surprising answers to questions you always wanted to ask, like:
Q. Where did this symbol "£" come from?
A. The £ sign developed over the years from the letter 'L', the initial letter of the Latin word libra meaning a pound of money.
Like money? The museum has a great collection of coins and notes from across the ages.
Like silver? You can see the good stuff.
Like gold? You may heft a gold bar, under the watchful eye of a security guard.
