Originally posted Thursday, November 15, 2012

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The Bank of England is the most venerable of the world’s central banks.  It is headquartered in the City of London — England’s version of Wall Street — on Threadneedle Street.

And somewhere along the line — in the late 18th century — it picked up the sobriquet “the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.”

1797 Political Cartoon “Political Ravishment or The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street in danger – a cartoon published in 1797 by James Gillray.  It depicts William Pitt the Younger, the Prime Minister of the day, pretending to woo the Bank, which is personified by an elderly lady wearing a dress of £1 notes seated on a chest of gold.”  Courtesy of the Bank of England

Back story, courtesy of leejacksonmaps.com: Because of the need for gold for foreign trade during the war with the French, William Pitt the younger pressured the Bank of England into temporarily suspending its practice of honouring banknotes with gold. The Bank then issued £1 & £2 notes for the first time.

There is lore from a later era with another, later, old lady of Threadneedle Street: Sarah Whitehead.

From Mysterious Britain & Ireland:

The Bank of England and The Black Nun

The Bank of England on Threadneedle Street is sometimes referred to as ‘The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’ and is reputedly haunted by the apparition of Sarah Whitehead, also known as ‘The Black Nun’. Sarah’s brother Philip Whitehead worked in the Bank of England’s Cashier’s Office and on 2nd November 1811 he was charged with forgery and executed for the crime the following year. The shock of her brothers crime and subsequent death unhinged Sarah’s mind and every day for the rest of her life (twenty five – thirty years) she would call at the bank, dressed in black and asking for her brother.

There have been various amendments to the story over time, some add that sometimes she hurled abuse and harassed staff at the Bank. Others that she would be well treated by some bank staff and received some money from them. Another states that the Bank paid her off after they got annoyed with her constant visits.