‘Writes a fair hand and appears to be well qualified’: the recruitment of Bank of England clerks, 1800–1815

The financial strains of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars had a significant impact on the Bank of England. In its position as banker to the state and manager of the state's debt, it experienced a significant increase in workload and thus was forced rapidly to expand its workforce. From a c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Financial history review 2015-04, Vol.22 (1), p.19-44
Main Author: Murphy, Anne L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
18th century
19th century
Archives
Banking
Careers
Central banks
Clerical personnel
Economic impact
England
European history
Finance
Financial history
International
Interviews
Labor force
Labour force
Qualifications
Recruitment
Skills
United Kingdom
Wages & salaries
War
White collar workers
Workforce
Workforce planning
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Summary:The financial strains of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars had a significant impact on the Bank of England. In its position as banker to the state and manager of the state's debt, it experienced a significant increase in workload and thus was forced rapidly to expand its workforce. From a complement of around 300 in the mid 1780s, the number of clerks employed had increased to over 900 in 1815. Using a unique set of records preserved in the Bank's archives, this article investigates the backgrounds and skills of the men recruited during the expansion of the early nineteenth century. It finds a significant gap between the skills required by the Bank and the skills possessed by its potential workforce.
ISSN:0968-5650
1474-0052
DOI:10.1017/S0968565015000013