Blackburn Trustee Savings Bank

Management and publicity and records of Blackburn Trustee Savings Bank including meeting notes, annual reports and a book on its history.

The original Blackburn Bank for Savings was founded in 1818 but closed in 1829. 15 of the Trustees from the old bank were amongst 42 men who set up Blackburn Savings Bank which opened on 3 September 1831. The Treasurer, John Cunliffe was a partner in Cunliffe, Brooks & Co. which was taken over by Lloyds Bank in 1900.

For the first nine years of its existence the bank was situated in the Sessions Room, King Street and was open for two hours on Saturday evenings. The bank was run by two school masters, Thomas Atkinson, headmaster of Blackburn Grammar School and George Edmonson, a Quaker who had an academy of his own in the town.

In 1839 the bank moved to premises in Clayton Street and remained there until 1863 when a site in Lord Street West was purchased for £200. The new building was erected at a cost of £1,834 15s. By this time the funds of the bank had grown to over 100,000. This was despite a cotton famine of 1861, which had a great effect on Blackburn as it was one of the major weaving towns at the time.

On the 18 October 1968 the Head Office function was moved to Preston New Road. In 1975 the branch became part of TSB of Lancashire and Cumbria. In 1991 the premises were renovated and refurbished.

Access is by appointment only, and at the discretion of the Archivist. Please e-mail archives@lloydsbanking.com for further information.