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The museum tells the story of the Bank of England, from its origins in 1694, as a national bank to fund the war with France, to the present. As well as ancient coins and original artwork for British banknotes, the museum offers a rare chance to manhandle a real 13kg gold bar (closely monitored, more's the pity, by CCTV). 'Kenneth Grahame and the Bank of England' is a permanent display commemorating the non-literary career of ‘The Wind of Willows’ author, who worked at the Bank of England for 30 years, and there's a small exhibit exploring Handel's financial dealings with the bank, as well as a reconstruction of Sir John Soane's 1793 Bank Stock Office – Soane was the bank's original architect.