Description
The Bank of England dates from 1694 but did not have its own building until 1724; it has had a Garden Court since 1781 when, the Bank's premises needing enlargement, the Church of St Christopher-le-Stocks was demolished and its churchyard incorporated as a garden. As the Bank's business increased in the late C18th onwards, Sir John Soane was commissioned to further expand the buildings which he reconstructed between 1788 and 1827, his banking halls particularly famous. From 1916 the Bank underwent further rebuilding largely under Sir Herbert Baker, completed in 1939, during which the original position of the garden courtyard had changed to the present site. A War Memorial with a bronze statue of St Christopher by Richard R Goulden, 1921, stands in the current garden, which has lawns, trees and flower beds.
Practical Information
| Site location | Threadneedle Street |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EC2R 8AH |
| What3Words | ///acute.habit.tester |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | City of London |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | No public access, but the Bank of England has opened for Open House London. |
| Public Transport | Tube: Bank (Central, DLR, Northern, Waterloo & City) / Monument (Circle, District). Bus: 8, 11, 26, 43, 76, 133, 242 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
St Christopher-le-Stocks was the first church to be demolished since the destruction of many churches in the Great Fire of London and had stood here from at least the C14th with a tower either built or rebuilt in 1506. By 1666 there was a cloister around the north churchyard. The church was partly damaged in the fire and rebuilt by Wren.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ327812 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0732 |
| Site Ownership | Bank of England |
| Site Management | Bank of England Property Services |
| Dates | 1781; 1939 |
| Listed Structures | LBI: Bank of England |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | City of London |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Bank |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Lothbury is first recorded in connection with St Margaret's Church in the late C12th and probably derives from a family called Lotha. The medieval church was rebuilt in 1440, destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666 and the present church by Christopher Wren dates from 1683-9. St Margaret's is now sandwiched between two commercial buildings, the Overseas Bankers' Club of 1866 to the east, and the former Royal Bank of Canada of 1932 to the west. To the north what remains of the churchyard is a small secluded garden.
The Grocers' Company, which had grown out of the Guild of Pepperers recorded in 1180, purchased the house of Lord Fitzwalter in 1427, at that time a much larger site. The Company's first Hall dated from 1428-33 and was rebuilt over the years; it was let to the Bank of England from 1690-1734. The present Hall was built in 1970 after its late C19th predecessor was destroyed in a fire. There was a garden in Victorian times, although it was reduced in size when the Bank was extended and Prince's Street realigned in 1798-1805, and encroached further when the Midland Bank was extended in the 1920s. What remains of the garden is a triangular courtyard with a small amount of planting along one side; a statue of St Anthony of Vienne is by the main entrance, formerly in the Hall of 1889.
The church of St Benet Fink was originally situated on Threadneedle Street, later rebuilt by Wren after an earlier church was destroyed in the Great Fire. Together with St Bartholomew by the Exchange and St Anthony's Hospital Chapel, St Benet's was demolished in 1842-44 to make way for the third, enlarged Royal Exchange and widening of Royal Exchange Avenue. The churchyard was acquired by Act of Parliament but had a long history, a C10th wheel-headed cross discovered here. To the west of the Royal Exchange is a paved area with a number of statues and a War Memorial, re-landscaped in 1985. To the east, adjacent to Royal Exchange Buildings, is a paved pedestrian piazza, Royal Exchange Square, aid out with a number of sculptures and a drinking fountain commemorating the jubilee of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association.
