Cole, Holroyd & Co

Cole, Holroyd & Co (1807-1842), established in Exeter, was a past constituent of NatWest.

Brief history

This private bank was established in 1807 as Russell, Brooke, Green, Cole, Perring & Co. Its founding partners were Robert Russell, a local carrier; John Cole, from a local merchant family; and Joseph Green, Philip Perring and Charles Brooke, all of whom lived in London.

By 1817 Russell and Cole were the sole remaining partners, trading under the name of Russell, Cole & Co. In 1822 Russell died and John Cole was joined by his nephew William Cole Dicker. The partnership, known as John Cole, William Cole Dicker & Co, also took the name Devon County Bank.

Cole and Dicker were joined by Henry Collins by 1825. George Holroyd, formerly agent of the Exeter branch of Bank of England, joined the partnership in around 1833. By this time John Cole had died and Henry Collins had left the partnership. William Cole was joined in the partnership by George Chaplin Holroyd. William Cole's son, John, joined the partnership in 1835.

In 1842 the business was sold to National Provincial Bank of England for £13,000 and amalgamated with the business of that bank's Exeter branch.

Detailed list of name changes

Russell, Brooke, Cole, Perring & Co from 1807
Russell, Cole & Co by 1817
John Cole, William Cole Dicker & Co by 1822
John Cole, William Cole Dicker & Henry Collins by 1825
Cole, Holroyd & Co 1833-1842

Also known as Devon County Bank.

Published history

J Ryton, Banks and Banknotes of Exeter 1769-1906 (Exeter: privately published, 1984)

Summary of our archive holdings

Our archival records of Cole, Holroyd & Co have the reference code COL.

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

Partnership records

partnership agreements 1807, 1817, 1833
amalgamation papers 1842-1845

Financial records

private ledgers 1808-1864
balance sheet books 1817-1842
private journals 1817-1864
general balance books 1818-1842
statements of transactions in treasury bills 1825-1836

Customer records

customer information books 1817-1842
papers re security 1837-1840s
list of customers 1842

Note issue records

banker's licences 1809-1841
banknotes 1812-1820s
indemnities re mutilated notes 1819-1835

Property records

premises papers 1830s-1840s