Project Soane, extended version. The Bank of England began as a group of non-conformist merchants,, many of them Huguenots, who came up with a scheme to elbow their way in to the mainstream financial world of 17th century London. It was a variation of a proposal that had been tried before, but on this occasion, the timing was right.
They proposed to raise large amounts of money for the government to fight a war with France, by selling shares in a joint stock company. This company went on to become the premier financial institution mediating between government and private enterprise: the Bank of England.
They began in a small way in rented premises belonging to the Worshipful Company of Grocers, set back from the main street in an enclosed courtyard. I started to model this building a couple of years ago but didn’t get very far and it seemed like a manageable task to occupy me for a few days taking it to a shareable level.
The family I originally made for the…