Review

Bank of England Museum

3 out of 5 stars
  • Museums | History
  • Bank
  • Recommended
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Time Out says

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.

Details

Address
Threadneedle St (entrance in Bartholomew Lane)
London
EC2R 8AH
Transport:
Tube: Bank
Price:
Free
Opening hours:
10am-5pm Mon-Fri (closed public and bank holidays).
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What’s on

The Power of Honey: Food, Finance and the Golden Age of Fraud

The Bank of England's vaults are full of more than 400,000 gold ingots. They're hidden away below ground, but visit this grand Threadneedle Street institution this summer and you'll find a different kind of golden treasure: honey. A new exhibition in the Bank of England's museum space by Bompas & Parr is designed to help visitors understand more about money, with the help of a sweet metaphor. The centrepiece is a buzzing hive of live bees, who you can watch guard their precious stock. There's also a chance to see if you can tell real honey from fake, a hands-on chance to inspect forged banknotes, and a look into the history of honey in food. Two Lates will include themed activities including learning to line dance, bee style (Aug 7) and making your own mead (Aug 20).
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