the world of private banking

104
THE WORLD OF PRIVAtE BANKING
a mixture of personal and business information. In 1725 Crompton recorded the
purchase of a suit for his son, Samuel junior, for 8 shillings.
The cash book also reveals Crompton was engaged in banking activities, as a
note of all sums deposited with him along with the name of the depositor and the
note issued as a receipt were carefully recorded. From May that year, the entries
become less detailed and only the total of deposits received was entered. It has
been estimated that an interest rate of 3.5 per cent was payable on such deposits. 15
The cash book also shows that Crompton accepted funds for transfer to London at
a charge which earned between 0.5 per cent and 0.75 per cent.
Samuel Crompton junior maintained a private account book from 1739 to
1768. 16 While this largely contains information of a non-banking nature, it does
include references to banking. Details of the wages of bank clerks, the transportation
of money to London and elsewhere, and dealings with the bankers Messrs Milnes
and Wilkinson of Chesterfield, are also recorded. 17
Moreover, Peter Graham’s recent research into the Smith family, who established
private banks in Nottingham, London, Hull, Lincoln and Derby between the 1650s
and early 1800s, has revealed further evidence of the intermingling of the early
bankers’ business interests. Graham has found that Thomas Smith’s casting-up
account stock book dated 1653–1659 18 contains information which suggests that
Smith was involved in banking as early as 1655. 19 The stock book lists each type
of cloth held and its value. The accounts for 1655 record he had stock total of
£370, debts owing to him of £51 and debts owing by him of £65. He also refers
to ‘lent money’ and money ‘in house’ of £16. Graham tentatively suggests that
the inclusion of ‘lent money’ provides evidence of Smith’s diversification into
banking activities.
Similarly, the letter books of early bankers reveal a mixture of personal,
business and banking affairs. A letter book dated 1760–1784 belonging to Abel
Smith II (grandson of Thomas Smith) is a good example. 20 Correspondence in
1760 with Thomas and John Tipping of Manchester show Abel was sending them
gold in return for bills of exchange. In September that year he wrote that ‘the bills
you mention at long dates will be no inconvenience to us. The present scarcity of
money everywhere you can be no stranger to, which must still grow worse during
the continuance of the war. If money is scarce at Manchester perhaps we could
15
Unattributed article Mr Chest and Mr Box, Westminster Bank Review, Aug. 1952.
16
NatWest Group Archives, ref. 11682.
17
Ibid., ref. 707.
18
Ibid., ref. 2248.
19
P. Graham, Private Banking in the East Midlands: a Study of Samuel Smith Esquire
and Co. paper delivered at Nottingham University, May 1998. I am indebted to Peter
Graham of Nottingham University for sharing his discoveries about the Smith banking
family while working on the Smith papers in the NatWest archives.
20
NatWest Group Archives, ref. 11682.