Fox, Fowler & Co was the last private bank in England to issue its own banknotes. The bank was founded as Fox & Co in 1787 by Quaker Thomas Fox, who had just established a company in Wellington, which made woollen cloth. The bank was initially used as a way to transfer funds between suppliers and customers. It was also used by the employees of the woollen mill for their wages and savings. Fox & Co issued their own banknotes for the first time in 1787.
In the 1870s the banking and woollen cloth parts of the business were separated. The banking side then expanded and opened branches in towns across Somerset and Devon.
The Bank Charter Act of 1844 banned new banks from issuing notes. Those banks already doing so, were allowed to continue, but only up to the amount that they had circulating in 1844. When banks merged after 1844, they lost the right to issue banknotes. The number of banks issuing banknotes gradually declined, as banks merged or banks gave up the right to issue banknotes voluntarily.
In 1879 the bank was renamed Fox, Fowler & Co. It continued to grow and took over several smaller private banks in the south west of England. In 1885 the Wellington branch moved to a new purpose-built bank in Fore Street.
Fox, Fowler & Co had 55 or 56 branches by 1921. At this point the Fox family decided to concentrate on their other business interests. They agreed that Lloyds Bank should take over their banking interests and Fox, Fowler & Co lost their right to issue banknotes at this point. The building at 27 Fore Street in Wellington remained a branch of Lloyds Bank until March 2024, when it was closed down.
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