Goslings Bank was a historical English private bank, located since at least 1743 at No. 19

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

, London, and identified to customers by a hanging signboard depicting three squirrels.

History

The bank originated in the business of Henry Pinckney, a goldsmith-banker who began trading in about 1650 at the sign of the Three Squirrels. The business passed through various hands until it came under the sole ownership of Thomas Ward, following the death of his partner in 1742. Ward brought in Sir Francis Gosling only for he (Ward) to die the following year. Ward's replacement was Samael Bennett, a prominent East India merchant who brought valuable Indian business. On Bennett's retirement, George Clive, a relative of

Lord Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British Eas ...

, became a partner, the name of the firm changing to Gosling, Gosling and Clive. George Clive died in 1779 and more Goslings joined the partnership, the firm being known as Messrs Gosling for some years.Matthews, P W & Tuke, A W, ''History of Barclays Bank Limited,'' 1926, London pp. 79–102 Benjamin Sharpe was the first employee to be appointed to the partnership. Sharpe had been a clerk at the Bank and was taken into partnership in 1794 and the name of the firm was changed to the familiar Goslings and Sharpe. Although there were always several Goslings in the partnership at any one time, a solitary Sharpe name remained in the partnership until the 1896 merger: the original Benjamin Sharpe; his son, and then grandson. In 1896, Goslings and Sharpe became one of the twenty constituent banks that merged to form Barclay and Company. The name of this well-known banking family is perpetuated in parentheses on all Barclays cheques relating to accounts held at the Fleet Street branch.

Customers

Goslings Bank boasted a number of prominent customers, including

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

newspaper,

the Law Society The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

, the

Stationers Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company ...

, and the Society of Licensed Victuallers. Prominent individuals known to have banked with Goslings include

Edward Austen Knight Edward Austen Knight (born Edward Austen; 7 October 1767 – 19 November 1852) was the third eldest brother of Jane Austen, and provided their mother with the use of a cottage in Chawton where Jane lived for the last years of her life (now Jane ...

Thomas Longman Thomas Longman may refer to: * Thomas Longman (1699–1755), English publisher who founded the publishing house of Longman * Thomas Norton Longman (1771–1842), his great nephew, English publisher * Thomas Longman (1804–1879), son of Thomas Nor ...

, and Sir

Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. His best-known work is the lion sculptures at the base of Nelso ...

Legacy

The Goslings name is perpetuated by Barclays Bank as part of the group's history, and in several practical ways. The three squirrels sign is still maintained outside the Fleet Street branch at 19 Fleet Street, and the Goslings name is still printed on cheques issued at that branch, as it has been since the 1896 merger.

References

External links

Cheque of Barclay's Bank with Goslings' name and address
held in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. 1743 establishments in England Banks established in 1743 Defunct banks of the United Kingdom {{Europe-bank-stub

History

Customers

Legacy

See also

References

External links