Inside the Bank of England

The magnificent Bank of England stands at the heart of what once was the Roman city of Londonium. Our national bank began to operate over 300 years ago just a few hundred yards down the road in the Mercer's Guildhall. It's nickname "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street" dates back to a satirical cartoon by James Gillray in 1797, showing the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger trying to get his hands on the country's gold reserves. The current building has several stories above ground but is known to have at least as many floors below ground where our gold reserves are kept today! The bank is custodian to the official gold reserves of the UK and tens of other nations. As of April 2016, the bank held gold worth around £141 billion (as much as 3% of the 171,300 tonnes of gold mined throughout human history).

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As part of Heritage open days 2025, explore the iconic Bank of England with a FREE guided walking tour (booking required) around the outside of the building covering 300 years of Bank history. Available on 17, 18 and 19 September at 12.30pm, the tours conclude inside the Bank of England Museum where there is reconstruction of the old Stock Office designed by Sir John Soane. You can then wander inside the museum to find out more about the history of the Bank and its work today.. The museum is open (FREE entry) Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm.