Bank of Manchester Ltd

Bank of Manchester Ltd (1829-1863) was a past constituent of NatWest.

This joint stock bank, the first in Manchester, was established in 1829. It had been promoted the previous year under the name Commercial Bank of Manchester with the objective to open branches in all the principal towns in the district and to distribute shares in the towns where it traded, although in practice this ambition was curtailed. The bank traded from Market Street under the management of Edmund Burdekin, formerly of Heywood Brothers & Co. Branches were opened in Stockport (1829) and later at Bolton and Newtown.

The bank appeared to trade successfully and in 1842 acquired Alliance Bank of Manchester. In the same year, however, financial irregularities by Edmund Burdekin were discovered, and the bank collapsed with losses of £800,000. This led to a call of £2 per share on all the shareholders in order to wind up the bank. The bank was wound up over the next 10 years and the creditors gradually paid off.

In 1852 the bank was reformed, still named Bank of Manchester, and a new board was appointed and a deed of settlement prepared. In 1859 the company assumed limited liability, becoming Bank of Manchester Ltd, with a paid-up capital of £227,000. The bank moved to premises in Pall Mall in 1862. In 1863 it amalgamated with Heywood, Kennards & Co to form Consolidated Bank.

Published history

• LH Grindon, Manchester Banks and Bankers (Manchester: Palmer & Howe, 1878)

Summary of our archive holdings

Our archival records of Bank of Manchester have the reference code BMA.

For help understanding words used here, check our glossary of banking record types (PDF 68 KB).

Corporate records

• papers of Edmund Burdekin, general manager 1821-1843
• deeds of settlement 1829, 1836, 1858
• share certificates: 1830, forms 1841, 1859-1863
• manager's letterbook 1833-1867
• annual report 1842
• directors’ meeting minute books: 1844-1896, rough 1845-1856
• share transfer register 1845-1865
• indentures re dividends 1849
• guardbook of circulars, notices and presscuttings 1852-1899
• shareholder circular 1856
• annual general meeting proceedings 1858
• certificate of incorporation 1859
• amalgamation papers 1863

Customer records

• customer securities 1837-1862
• customer guarantee 1857
• notices re dishonoured bills of exchange 1861
• customer correspondence 1862

Staff records

• salaries book 1831-1916

Property records

• correspondence re property 1857

Note issue records

• banknotes 1833-1840