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Child & Co. facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Child & Co.
Division
Industry Financial services
Fate Last branch closed in 2022
Founded 1664; 361 years ago (1664)
Headquarters 1 Fleet Street, London, EC4
United Kingdom
Services Private banking
Wealth management
Parent NatWest Group

Child & Co. was a very old and famous private bank in the United Kingdom. It later became part of the NatWest Group. This bank was located at 1 Fleet Street in London, right next to the Temple Bar Memorial. Child & Co. was known for serving special clients. Its last branch closed in June 2022, and it is no longer an active brand of the NatWest Group.

History

ONL (1887) 1.043 - Child's Banking House, Fleet Street, next to Temple Bar, 1850
Child's Banking House on Fleet Street beside Temple Bar Gate, 1850

Child & Co. was one of the oldest banks in the world. It was the oldest bank in the UK, starting even before the Bank of England was created.

How Child & Co. Started

Child & Co. began as a goldsmith business in London in the late 1600s. Its first location was known by the sign of the Marygold. In 1664, a man named Sir Francis Child started his business with a partner, Robert Blanchard. Sir Francis later took over the whole business.

The company became very successful and was even chosen to be the "jeweller in ordinary" for King William III. In 1710, Child & Co. took over most of another goldsmith bank's business after it ran into big financial trouble.

After Sir Francis Child passed away in 1713, his three sons took over. During this time, the business changed from just selling gold to becoming a full bank. It was one of the first banks to use pre-printed cheque forms. Before this, people just wrote a letter to their bank to get money. The bank also issued its first bank note in 1729.

Changes from 1782 to 1924

By 1782, Sir Francis's grandson, Robert Child, was in charge. When he died, he didn't have any sons to take over. He was upset with his daughter, Sarah Anne Child, because she had run off to marry someone he didn't approve of. So, he made sure his money and the bank would not go to her husband's family. Instead, it was left in trust for his daughter's second son or eldest daughter. This turned out to be Lady Sarah Sophia Fane, who was born in 1785.

From 1782 to 1793, Robert Child's widow, Sarah Child, managed the bank. Their granddaughter, Lady Sarah Sophia Fane, married George Child-Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey, in 1804. When she turned 21 in 1806, she became the main owner. She managed the bank herself until she died in 1867. After that, the Earl of Jersey and Frederick William Price became the main partners. The Child-Villiers family continued to own the bank until the 1920s.

Sale of the Bank in 1924

In 1924, George Child-Villiers, 8th Earl of Jersey, sold Child & Co. to another bank called Glyn, Mills, Currie, Holt & Co. They kept Child & Co. as a separate business. Later, in 1931, The Royal Bank of Scotland bought Glyn, Mills & Co. In 1969, it merged with another bank to form Williams & Glyn's Bank. Finally, in 1985, Williams and Glyn's Bank became fully part of The Royal Bank of Scotland.

During World War II, the main banking offices moved to Osterley in West London for safety. In 1932, a new branch of Child & Co. opened in Oxford, but it was later transferred to another bank in 1942. In 1977, a small office was opened again in Oxford.

Fleet Street Location

The main Child & Co. bank building was at 1 Fleet Street. It was designed by John Gibson and is a very important historical building. The bank had been operating from this same spot on Fleet Street since 1673. The building was updated in 2015.

In February 2022, Child & Co. told its clients that the Fleet Street branch would close on June 29, 2022. Even though the branch is closed, The Royal Bank of Scotland still issues Child & Co. branded debit cards and cheque books to some clients.

Who Were Child & Co.'s Clients?

Over its 350-year history, Child & Co. had a very special group of clients. These included important legal groups like the Honourable Societies of Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn. Many rich families also banked there. Some famous universities and colleges, like Oxford colleges, the London School of Economics, and Imperial College London, also had accounts with Child & Co.

The bank also worked with many of the biggest law firms and accounting firms in the UK. It is thought that Child & Co. was the inspiration for the fictional Tellson's Bank in Charles Dickens' famous book A Tale of Two Cities.

See also