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Bank of England

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one of the bankers for the Government of the United Kingdom, it is the world's eighth-oldest bank.

The bank was privately owned by stockholders from its foundation in 1694 until it was nationalised in 1946 by the Attlee ministry. In 1998 it became an independent public organisation, wholly owned by the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of the government, with a mandate to support the economic policies of the government of the day, but independence in maintaining price stability. In the 21st century the bank took on increased responsibility for maintaining and monitoring financial stability in the UK, and it increasingly functions as a statutory regulator.

The bank's headquarters have been in London's main financial district, the City of London, since 1694, and on Threadneedle Street since 1734. It is sometimes known as "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street", a name taken from a satirical cartoon by James Gillray in 1797. The road junction outside is known as Bank Junction.

The bank, among other things, is custodian to the official gold reserves of the United Kingdom (and those of around 30 other countries). , the bank held around 5134 tonne of gold, worth £141 billion. These estimates suggest that the vault could hold as much as 3% of the 171,300 tonnes of gold mined throughout human history.

Functions
According to its strapline, the bank's core purpose is 'promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability'. This is achieved in a variety of ways:

Monetary stability
Stable prices and secure forms of payment are the two main criteria for monetary stability.

Stable prices
Stable prices are maintained by seeking to ensure that price increases meet the Government's inflation target. The bank aims to meet this target by adjusting the base interest rate (known as the bank rate), which is decided by the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). (The MPC has devolved responsibility for managing monetary policy; HM Treasury has reserve powers to give orders to the committee "if they are required in the public interest and by extreme economic circumstances", but Parliament must endorse such orders within 28 days.)

As of 2024 the inflation target is 2%; if this target is missed the Governor is required to write an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer explaining the situation and proposing remedies. Other than setting the base interest rate, the main tool at the bank's disposal in this regard is quantitative easing.

Secure forms of payment
The bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales and regulates the issuance of banknotes by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. (Scottish and Northern Irish banks retain the right to issue their own banknotes, but they must be backed one-for-one with deposits at the bank, excepting a few million pounds representing the value of notes they had in circulation in 1845.)

In addition the bank supervises other payment systems, acting as a settlement agent and operating Real-time gross settlement systems including CHAPS. In 2024 the bank was settling around £500 billion worth of payments between banks each day.

Financial stability
Maintaining financial stability involves protecting the UK's savers, investors and borrowers against threats to the financial system as a whole. Threats are detected by the bank's surveillance and market intelligence functions, and dealt with through financial and other operations (both at home and abroad). The majority of these safeguards were put in place in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis:

Regulation
In 2011 the bank's Prudential Regulation Authority was established to regulate and supervise all major banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and investment firms in the UK ('microprudential regulation'). The bank also has a statutory supervisory role in relation to financial market infrastructures.

Risk management
At the same time, the bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) was set up to identify and monitor risks in the financial system, and to take appropriate action where necessary ('macroprudential regulation'). The FPC publishes its findings (and actions taken) in a biannual Financial Stability Report.

Banking services
The bank provides wholesale banking services to the UK Government (and to over a hundred overseas central banks). It manages the UK's Exchange Equalisation Account on behalf of HM Treasury and it maintains the government's Consolidated Fund account. It also manages the country's foreign exchange reserves and is custodian of the UK's (and others') gold reserves.

The bank also offers 'liquidity support and other services to banks and other financial institutions'. Commercial banks customarily keep a sizeable proportion of their cash reserves on deposit at the Bank of England. These central bank reserves are used by the banks to settle payments with one another; (for this reason the Bank of England is sometimes called 'the bankers' bank'). In exceptional circumstances, the Bank may act as the lender of last resort by extending credit when no other institution will.

As a regulator and central bank, the Bank of England has not offered consumer banking services for many years, but it still does manage some public-facing services (such as exchanging superseded bank notes).

Resolution
Under the terms of the Banking Act 2009 the bank is the UK's Resolution Authority for any bank or building society judged 'too big to fail'; as such it is empowered to act in the event of a bank failure 'to protect the UK's vital financial services and financial stability'.

Historic services and responsibilities
Between 1715 and 1998, the Bank of England managed Government Stocks (which formed the bulk of the national debt): the bank was responsible for issuing stocks to stockholders, paying dividends and maintaining a register of transfers; however in 1998, following the decision to grant the bank operational independence, responsibility for government debt management was transferred to a new Debt Management Office, which also took over Exchequer cash management and responsibility for issuing Treasury bills from the bank in 2000. Computershare took over as the registrar for UK Government bonds (gilt-edged securities or 'gilts') from the bank at the end of 2004. The bank, however, continues to act as settlement agent for the Debt Management Office and custodian of its securities.

Ever since its foundation in 1694, the bank had provided a retail banking service for the Government; however in 2008 it decided to withdraw from offering these services, which are now provided by a range of other financial institutions and managed by the Government Banking Service.

Until 2016, the bank provided personal banking services as a privilege for employees. Previously, the bank had maintained private and commercial accounts for all sorts of customers, including individuals, small businesses and public organisations; but a change of policy following the First World War saw the bank increasingly withdraw from this type of business to focus more clearly on its central banking role.

Founding

England's crushing defeat by France, the dominant naval power, in naval engagements culminating in the 1690 Battle of Beachy Head, became the catalyst for England to rebuild itself as a global power. William III's government wanted to build a naval fleet that would rival that of France; however, the ability to construct this fleet was hampered both by a lack of available public funds and the low credit of the English government in London. This lack of credit made it impossible for the English government to borrow the £1.5m that it wanted to construct the fleet.

Concept
In 1691, William Paterson had proposed establishing a national bank as a means of bolstering public finances. As he later wrote in his pamphlet A Brief Account of the Intended Bank of England (1694): While his scheme was not immediately acted upon, it did provide the basis for the bank's first Charter and the legislation which made its establishment possible.

Two other key figures in the bank's creation were Charles Montagu, the Member of Parliament for Maldon, who played a crucial role in steering the proposals through Parliament (and was afterwards appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer); and Michael Godfrey, who helped persuade City financiers of its benefits (and was subsequently chosen to be the bank's first Deputy Governor).

It has also been claimed (by W. R. Scott, among others) that William Phips played a timely, if incidental, role: his successful expedition to retrieve booty from a sunken Spanish galleon (the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción) helped create an ideal market for the bank's foundation: flooding the market with bullion and creating an enthusiasm for joint-stock ventures.

Legislation
Paterson's proposal required the Government to set up a fund from which interest would be paid to the subscribers. It was decided that this would be provided for by income from tonnage, and certain other shipping duties routinely levied by HM Exchequer; therefore Parliament approved the bank's establishment by means of the Tonnage Act 1694 ('An Act for granting to theire Majesties severall Rates and Duties upon Tunnage of Shipps and Vessells and upon Beere Ale and other Liquors for secureing certaine Recompenses and Advantages in the said Act mentioned to such Persons as shall voluntarily advance the summe of Fifteen hundred thousand Pounds towards the carrying on the Warr against France').

To induce subscription to the loan, the subscribers were to be incorporated by the name of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. Public finances were in such dire condition at the time that the terms of the loan (as laid down in the Act of Parliament) were that it was to be serviced at a rate of 8% per annum; there was also a service charge of £4,000 per annum payable to the bank for the management of the loan.

The Act limited the subscribers' investment to a maximum of £10,000 each in the first instance, and £1,200,000 in total (it was envisaged that the Exchequer would raise the remaining £300,000 through other forms of borrowing).

Incorporation
The royal charter of the Bank of England was granted on 27 July 1694, three months after the passing of the Act.

In the end the £1.2 million was raised in 12 days; 1,268 people subscribed. Their holdings were known as Bank Stock (Bank Stock continued to be held in private ownership until 1946 when the Bank of England was nationalised). The majority of the original subscribers were of 'the mercantile middle classes of London' (though tradesmen and artisans also subscribed). Most (more than two-thirds) contributed less than £1,000. As a proportion of the total amount raised, 25% came from 'esquires', 21% from merchants and 15% from titled aristocrats. Twelve per cent of the original subscribers were women. King William and Queen Mary (jointly) invested £10,000, the maximum permitted sum, as did a handful of others (including Sir John Houblon).

Investment in the navy duly took place. As a side effect, the huge industrial effort needed (including establishing ironworks to make more nails and advances in agriculture feeding the quadrupled strength of the navy) started to transform the economy. This helped the new Kingdom of Great Britain – England and Scotland were formally united in 1707 – to become powerful. The power of the navy made Britain the dominant world power in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Governance
The first Governor of the bank was John Houblon, and the first Deputy Governor Michael Godfrey. (330 years later, in 1994, the bank would issue a £50 note depicting Houblon to mark its tercentenary.)

Governance was vested in the Governor, his Deputy and a 'Court' of 24 Directors (most of whom were merchant bankers recruited from the City); the Directors were elected annually by a 'General Court' of all the Bank's registered stockholders (collectively known as 'the Proprietors'). The common seal of the Court of Directors, adopted on 30 July 1694, depicted 'Britannia sitting and looking on a Bank of mony'; Britannia has been the bank's emblem ever since.

The Court appointed three senior officers who, alongside the Governor and Deputy Governor, were responsible for its day-to-day running of the bank: the Secretary and Sollicitor, the First Accomptant and the First Cashier. (Their successors, the Secretary, Chief Accountant and Chief Cashier, continued to head up the main divisions of the bank's operations for the next 250 years: the Chief Cashier and the Chief Accountant had oversight of the 'cash side' and the 'stock side' of the bank, respectively, while the Secretary oversaw its internal administration.)

Besides these officers, the bank in 1694 was staffed by seventeen clerks and two doorkeepers.

Premises
The bank initially did not have its own building, first opening on 1 August 1694 in Mercers' Hall on Cheapside. This however was found to be too small and from 31 December 1694 the bank operated from Grocers' Hall (located then on Poultry), where it would remain for almost 40 years. (Houblon had served as Master of the Grocers' Company in 1690-1691.)

Operation
The Act of Parliament prohibited the bank from trading in goods or merchandise of any kind, though it was allowed to deal in gold and silver bullion, and in bills of exchange. Before very long, the bank was maximising its profits by issuing banknotes, taking deposits and lending on mortgages.

In its early days the bank made significant losses, not least by accepting clipped coins in exchange for its banknotes. The establishment of a Land Bank (by John Asgill and Nicholas Barbon) in 1695, and a currency shortage occasioned by the Great Recoinage of 1696, both threatened the bank's position; but Parliament intervened, passing another Act that year, which authorised the bank to increase its capital to over £2.2 million through the enlarging of its stock by new subscriptions.

18th century
In 1700, the Hollow Sword Blade Company was purchased by a group of businessmen who wished to establish a competing English bank (in an action that would today be considered a "back door listing"). The Bank of England's initial monopoly on English banking was due to expire in 1710. However, it was instead renewed, and the Sword Blade company failed to achieve its goal.

The idea and reality of the national debt came about at around this time, and this was also largely managed by the bank. Through the 1715 Ways and Means Act, Parliament authorised the bank to receive subscriptions for a government issue of 5% annuities, designed to raise £910,000; this marked the start of the bank's role in managing Government Stocks, which were a means for people to invest in government debt (previously Government borrowing had been administered directly by the Exchequer). The bank was obliged by the Act to pay half-yearly dividends and to keep a book record of all transfers (as it was already accustomed to do with regard to its own Bank Stock).

The bank did not have a monopoly on lending to the government, however: the South Sea Company had been established in 1711, and in 1720 it too became responsible for part of the UK's national debt, becoming a major competitor to the Bank of England. While the "South Sea Bubble" disaster soon ensued, the company continued managing part of the UK national debt until 1853. The East India Company too was a lender of choice for the government.

In 1734 there were ninety-six members of staff at the bank. The bank's charter was renewed in 1742, and again in 1764. By the 1742 Act the bank became the only joint-stock company allowed to issue bank notes in the metropolis.

Threadneedle Street
The Bank of England moved to its current location, on the site of Sir John Houblon's house and garden in Threadneedle Street (close by the church of St Christopher le Stocks), in 1734. (The estate had been purchased ten years earlier; Houblon had died in 1712, but his widow lived on in the house until her death in 1731, after which the house was demolished and work on the bank began.)

The newly-built premises, designed by George Sampson, occupied a narrow plot (around 80 ft wide) extending north from Threadneedle Street. The front building contained transfer offices on the first floor, beneath which was an entrance arch leading to a courtyard. Facing the entrance was the 'main building' of the bank: a large Hall (79x40 ft) in which bank notes were issued and exchanged, and where deposits and withdrawals could be made. (Sampson's Great Hall, later known as the Pay Hall, remained in situ and in use until Herbert Baker's comprehensive rebuilding in the late 1920s.) Beyond the Hall was a quadrangle of buildings enclosing a 'spacious and commodious Court-yard' (later known as Bullion Court). On the south side of the quadrangle were the Court Room and Committee Room, on the north side was a large Accountants' Office; on either side were arcaded walkways, with rooms for the senior officers, while the upper floors contained offices and apartments. Beneath the quadrangle were the vaults ('that have very strong Walls and Iron Gates, for the Preservation of the Cash'); access to the courtyard was provided, by way of a passage leading to a 'grand Gateway' on Bartholomew Lane, for the coaches and waggons 'that come frequently loaded with Gold and Silver Bullion'. The pediment above the entrance to the main Hall was decorated with a carved alto relievo figure of Britannia (who had appeared on the common seal of the bank since 30 July 1694); the sculptor was Robert Taylor, who went on to be appointed Architect, in succession to Sampson, in 1764. Inside, the east end of the Hall was dominated by a large statue by John Cheere of King William III, lauded in an accompanying Latin inscription as the bank's founder (conditor); at the opposite end, a large Venetian window looked out on St Christopher's churchyard.

Expansion
In the second half of the 18th century the bank gradually acquired neighbouring plots of land to enable it to expand, and after 1765 new buildings began to be added by the bank's newly-appointed architect Robert Taylor. North-west of the Pay Hall, overlooking St Christopher's churchyard to the south, Taylor built a suite of rooms for the Directors of the bank centred on a new (much larger) Court Room and Committee Room (When the bank was rebuilt in the 1920s-30s, these rooms were removed from their original ground-floor location and reconstructed on the first floor; they continue to be used for meetings of the bank's Court of Directors and Monetary Policy Committee respectively.). East of the Pay Hall, Taylor built a suite of halls and offices dedicated to the management of stocks and dividends, which more or less doubled the size of the bank's footprint (extending it as far as Bartholomew Lane). These rooms were centred on a large Rotunda, also known as the Brokers' Exchange, where dealing in Government Stock took place; around it were arranged four sizeable Transfer Offices, each corresponding with a different fund (as described in the 1820s: 'In each office under the several letters of the alphabet, are arranged the books on which the names of all persons having property in the funds are registered, as well as the particulars of their respective interests'). All these offices were top-lit, to avoid the need for windows in the external walls.

In 1782 the church of St Christopher le Stocks was demolished, allowing the bank to expand westwards along Threadneedle Street. The new west wing was completed to Taylor's design in 1786 (its frontage matching that of Taylor's earlier east wing): it housed the Reduced Annuities Office, the Cheque Office and the Dividend Warrant Office (among others). Immediately to the north lay the former churchyard of St Christopher le Stocks, which was preserved within the complex of buildings as a garden (known as the 'Garden Court'). North of Bullion Court, Taylor built a new four-storey Library, to house the bank's expanding collection of archives.

The Bank Picquet
The church's demolition had been prompted by the 1780 Gordon Riots, during which rioters reportedly climbed on the church to throw projectiles at the buildings of the bank. During the riots, in June 1780, the Lord Mayor of London petitioned the Secretary of State to send a military guard to protect the bank and the Mansion House. Thenceforward a nightly guard (the 'Bank Picquet') was provided by soldiers of the Household Brigade (a practice which continued until 1973). To house the guard Taylor built a Barracks (accessed from a separate entrance on Princes Street) in the north-west corner of the site.

John Soane's rebuilding
Sir Robert Taylor died in 1788 and in his place the bank appointed John Soane as Architect and Surveyor (he would remain in post until 1827). Under his direction, the bank was further expanded and partially rebuilt, bit by bit but to a cohesive plan. A survey of the buildings, undertaken at the start of his tenure, identified some problems, which were promptly remedied by Soane: for example in 1795 he rebuilt the Rotunda and two of the adjacent Transfer Offices (the Bank Stock Office and the Four Per Cent Office), replacing Taylor's timber roofs, which were leaking, with more durable stonework. At the same time Soane was tasked with purchasing properties to the north-east, so as to enable the bank to expand in that direction as far as Lothbury. Between 1794 and 1800 he designed a cohesive set of buildings within the new irregularly-shaped site: he reconfigured Bullion Court and provided a new entrance route for vehicles from the north, which was named Lothbury Court; to the west of this he built a new Chief Cashier's office, and rooms for the Secretary and Chief Accountant; to the east he constructed a new Library block and added a fifth Transfer Office (the Consols Transfer Office) to the north of the other four.

The Brokers' Exchange in the Bank
In the late 18th and early 19th century, prior to the establishment of the London Stock Exchange, the Rotunda in the Bank of England was used as a trading floor 'where stock-brokers, stock-jobbers, and other persons, meet for the purpose of transacting business in public funds'. Branching off from the Rotunda were 'offices appropriated to the management of each particular stock' containing books listing every individual's registered interest in the fund. The use of the Rotunda for trading ceased in 1838, but it continued to be used for the cashing of fundholders' dividend warrants.

Conflicts and credit crises
The credit crisis of 1772 has been described as the first modern banking crisis faced by the Bank of England. The whole City of London was in uproar when Alexander Fordyce was declared bankrupt. In August 1773, the Bank of England assisted the EIC with a loan. The strain upon the reserves of the Bank of England was not eased until towards the end of the year.

During the American War of Independence, business for the bank was so good that George Washington remained a shareholder throughout the period.

By the bank's charter renewal in 1781, it was also the bankers' bank – keeping enough gold to pay its notes on demand until 26 February 1797 when war had so diminished gold reserves that – following an invasion scare caused by the Battle of Fishguard days earlier – the government prohibited the bank from paying out in gold by the passing of the bank Restriction Act 1797. This prohibition lasted until 1821.

In 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, a Corps of bank Volunteers was formed (of between 450 and 500 men) to defend the bank in the event of an invasion. It was disbanded in 1802, but promptly re-formed the following year at the start of the Napoleonic Wars. Its soldiers were trained, in the event of an invasion, to remove the gold and silver from the vaults to a remote location, along with the banknote printing presses and certain important records. An armoury was provided on site at Threadneedle Street for their arms and accoutrements. The Corps was finally disbanded in 1814.

19th century
At the start of the 19th century a plan was enacted by John Soane for the further extension of the bank's premises, this time to the north-west (necessitating the rerouting of Princes Street, to form the new western boundary of the site). Much of the area of the new extension was taken up with steam-powered presses for the printing of banknotes (notes continued to be printed on site until the First World War, when the former St Luke's Hospital was acquired and converted into the bank's printing works). Soane continued in post until 1833; in the last years before his retirement he completed his rebuilding of Taylor's east wing and reconfigured Sampson and Taylor's street-facing façades to make the entire perimeter of the complex a coherent whole.

In 1811, an 'ingeniously-contrived clock' by Thwaites & Co. was installed above the Pay Hall: as well as chiming the hours and quarters, it conveyed the time remotely (by means of brass rods extending a total of 700 ft in length) to dials located in sixteen different offices around the site.

The 'panic of 1825' highlighted risks inherent in the bank's three-way split loyalties: to its stockholders, to the Government (and thereby to the public), and to its commercial banking customers. In 1825–26 the bank was able to avert a liquidity crisis when Nathan Mayer Rothschild succeeded in supplying it with gold; nevertheless in the wake of the crisis many country and provincial banks failed prompting numerous commercial bankruptcies. The passing of the Country Bankers Act 1826 allowed the bank to open provincial branches for the better distribution of its banknotes (at the time small country banks, some of which were significantly undercapitalised, issued their own notes); by the end of the following year eight Bank of England branches had been set up around the country.

The Bank Charter Act 1844 tied the issue of notes to the gold reserves and gave the Bank of England sole rights with regard to the issue of banknotes in England. Private banks that had previously had that right retained it, provided that their headquarters were outside London and that they deposited security against the notes that they issued; but they were offered inducements to relinquish this right. (The last private bank in England to issue its own notes was Thomas Fox's Fox, Fowler and Company bank in Wellington, which rapidly expanded until it merged with Lloyds Bank in 1927. They remained legal tender until 1964. (There are nine notes left in circulation; one is housed at Tone Dale House, Wellington.))

The bank acted as lender of last resort for the first time in the panic of 1866.

20th century
Until 1931 Britain was on the gold standard, meaning the value of sterling was fixed by the price of gold. That year, the Bank of England had to take Britain off the gold standard due to the effects of Great Depression spreading to Europe.

1913 attempted bombing
A terrorist bombing was attempted outside the Bank of England building on 4 April 1913. A bomb was discovered smoking and ready to explode next to railings outside the building. The bomb had been planted as part of the suffragette bombing and arson campaign, in which the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) launched a series of politically motivated bombing and arson attacks nationwide as part of their campaign for women's suffrage. The bomb was defused before it could detonate, in what was then one of the busiest public streets in the capital, which likely prevented many civilian casualties. The bomb had been planted the day after WSPU leader Emmeline Pankhurst was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for carrying out a bombing on the home of politician David Lloyd George.

The remains of the bomb, which was built into a milk churn, are now on display at the City of London Police Museum.

Restructuring and rebuilding
During the governorship of Montagu Norman, from 1920 to 1944, the bank made deliberate efforts to move away from commercial banking and become a central bank. A later Governor, Robin Leigh-Pemberton, described it as 'a time of rapid change, in which we began to move away from the clerical traditions of 200 years [...] and to accept specialisation, mechanisation and modern management disciplines'. Economists and statisticians began to be employed at the bank in increasing number. In 1931 the 'Peacock Committee', set up to advise on organisational improvements, published recommendations which included the appointment of paid executive Directors (alongside the traditional non-executive members of the Court). It also recommended reconfiguration of the bank's traditional departmental structures.

The work of the bank had significantly increased since the end of the First World War, and the decision was taken to expand. Between 1925 and 1939 the bank's headquarters on Threadneedle Street were comprehensively rebuilt by Herbert Baker. (This involved the demolition of most of Sir John Soane's buildings, an act described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest architectural crime, in the City of London, of the twentieth century".) Initially the plan had been to retain Soane's banking halls behind the curtain wall, but this proved challenging so they were instead demolished and rebuilt in facsimile. The demolition and rebuilding took place in stages, with staff moving from one part of the building to another (or, in some cases, into temporary accommodation at Finsbury Circus). The bullion and securities remained on site throughout. During reconstruction human remains pertaining to the old churchyard of St Christopher le Stocks were exhumed and reburied at Nunhead Cemetery.

Baker's steel-framed building stands seven storeys high, with a further three vault storeys extending below ground level. It is decorated with sculpture and bronze work by Charles Wheeler, plasterwork by Joseph Armitage and mosaics by Boris Anrep. The bank today is a Grade I listed building.

1939 saw the introduction of Exchange Controls in the United Kingdom at the outbreak of the Second World War; these were administered by the bank. During WWII, over 10% of the face value of circulating Pound Sterling banknotes were forgeries produced by Germany.

A number of the bank's operations and staff were relocated to Hampshire for the duration of the war, including the printing works (which moved to Overton), the Accountant's Department (which went to Hurstbourne Park) and various other offices. Those who remained at Threadneedle Street, including the Directors, moved their offices into the underground vaults.

Post-war nationalisation
In 1946, shortly after the end of Montagu Norman's tenure, the bank was nationalised by the Labour government. At the same time the number of Directors was reduced to sixteen (four of whom were full-time Executive Directors).

The bank pursued the multiple goals of Keynesian economics after 1945, especially "easy money" and low-interest rates to support aggregate demand. It tried to keep a fixed exchange rate and attempted to deal with inflation and sterling weakness by credit and exchange controls.

After the war, the very large Accountant's Department (which managed the stock side of the bank) moved back to London from Hampshire. Its designated office-space at Threadneedle Street, however, had in the meantime been taken over by the Exchange Control office. The Department was instead provided with temporary accommodation (once more in Finsbury Circus), pending construction of a new building, which would occupy a two-acre bombsite immediately to the east of St Paul's Cathedral. 'Bank of England New Change' was designed by Victor Heal and opened in 1957 (at the time it was London's biggest post-war rebuilding project); the new building contained several staff amenities alongside the office accommodation and, at street level, retail units were let to an assortment of businesses. The bank had the building on a 200-year lease; but with the advent of computerisation staff numbers were drastically reduced in the 1980s-90s; parts of the building were let to other firms (most notably the law firm Allen & Overy). The bank sold the building in 2000 and in 2007 it was demolished; One New Change now stands on the site.

The bank's "10 bob note" was withdrawn from circulation in 1970 in preparation for Decimal Day in 1971.

[[File:United Kingdom bonds.webp|thumb|United Kingdom bonds

]] In 1977 the bank set up a wholly owned subsidiary called Bank of England Nominees Limited (BOEN), a now-defunct private limited company, with two of its hundred £1 shares issued. According to its memorandum of association, its objectives were: "To act as Nominee or agent or attorney either solely or jointly with others, for any person or persons, partnership, company, corporation, government, state, organisation, sovereign, province, authority, or public body, or any group or association of them". Bank of England Nominees Limited was granted an exemption by Edmund Dell, Secretary of State for Trade, from the disclosure requirements under Section 27(9) of the Companies Act 1976, because "it was considered undesirable that the disclosure requirements should apply to certain categories of shareholders". The Bank of England is also protected by its royal charter status and the Official Secrets Act. BOEN was a vehicle for governments and heads of state to invest in UK companies (subject to approval from the Secretary of State), providing they undertake "not to influence the affairs of the company". In its later years, BOEN was no longer exempt from company law disclosure requirements. Although a dormant company, dormancy does not preclude a company actively operating as a nominee shareholder. BOEN had two shareholders: the Bank of England, and the Secretary of the Bank of England.

The reserve requirement for banks to hold a minimum fixed proportion of their deposits as reserves at the Bank of England was abolished in 1981: see for more details. The contemporary transition from Keynesian economics to Chicago economics was analysed by Nicholas Kaldor in The Scourge of Monetarism.

The handing over of monetary policy to the bank became a key plank of the Liberal Democrats' economic policy for the 1992 general election. Conservative MP Nicholas Budgen had also proposed this as a private member's bill in 1996, but the bill failed as it had the support of neither the government nor the opposition.

The UK government left the expensive-to-maintain European Exchange Rate Mechanism in September 1992, in an action that cost HM Treasury over £3 billion. This led to closer communication between the government and the bank.

In 1993, the bank produced its first Inflation Report for the government, detailing inflationary trends and pressures. This annually produced report remains one of the bank's major publications. The success of inflation targeting in the United Kingdom has been attributed to the bank's focus on transparency. The Bank of England has been a leader in producing innovative ways of communicating information to the public, especially through its Inflation Report, which many other central banks have emulated.

The bank celebrated its three-hundredth birthday in 1994.

In 1996, the bank produced its first Financial Stability Review. This annual publication became known as the Financial Stability Report in 2006. Also that year, the bank set up its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system to improve risk-free settlement between UK banks.

On 6 May 1997, following the 1997 general election that brought a Labour government to power for the first time since 1979, it was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, that the bank would be granted operational independence over monetary policy. Under the terms of the Bank of England Act 1998 (which came into force on 1 June 1998) the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was given sole responsibility for setting interest rates to meet the Government's Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation target of 2.5%. The target has changed to 2% since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) replaced the Retail Prices Index as the Treasury's inflation index. If inflation overshoots or undershoots the target by more than 1% the Governor has to write a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer explaining why, and how he will remedy the situation.

Independent central banks that adopt an inflation target are known as Friedmanite central banks. This change in Labour's politics was described by Skidelsky in The Return of the Master as a mistake and as an adoption of the rational expectations hypothesis as promulgated by Alan Walters. Inflation targets combined with central bank independence have been characterised as a "starve the beast" strategy creating a lack of money in the public sector.

in June 1998 responsibility for the regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries was transferred from the bank to the Financial Services Authority. A memorandum of understanding described the terms under which the bank, the Treasury, and the FSA would work toward the common aim of increased financial stability. (Ten years later, however, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, new banking legislation transferred the responsibility for regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries back to the Bank of England).

21st century
The bank decided to sell its banknote-printing operations to De La Rue in December 2002, under the advice of Close Brothers Corporate Finance Ltd.

Mervyn King became the Governor of the Bank of England on 30 June 2003.

In 2009, a request made to HM Treasury under the Freedom of Information Act sought details about the 3% Bank of England stock owned by unnamed shareholders whose identity the bank is not at liberty to disclose. In a letter of reply dated 15 October 2009, HM Treasury explained that "Some of the 3% Treasury stock which was used to compensate former owners of bank stock has not been redeemed. However, interest is paid out twice a year and it is not the case that this has been accumulating and compounding."

[[File:UK bond rates.webp|thumb|300px|UK bond rates

]] In 2010, the incoming Chancellor announced his intention to merge the Financial Services Authority back into the bank. In 2011 an interim Financial Policy Committee (FPC) was created (as a mirror committee to the Monetary Policy Committee) to spearhead the bank's new mandate on financial stability. The Financial Services Act 2012 gave the bank additional functions and bodies, including an independent FPC, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and more powers to supervise financial market infrastructure providers. It also created the independent Financial Conduct Authority. These bodies are responsible for macroprudential regulation of all UK banks and insurance companies.

Canadian Mark Carney assumed the post of Governor of the Bank of England on 1 July 2013. He served an initial five-year term rather than the typical eight. He became the first Governor not to be a United Kingdom citizen but has since been granted citizenship. At Government request, his term was extended to 2019, then again to 2020. , the bank also had four Deputy Governors.

BOEN was dissolved, following liquidation, in July 2017.

Andrew Bailey succeeded Carney as the Governor of the Bank of England on 16 March 2020.

Asset purchase facility
The bank has operated, since January 2009, an Asset Purchase Facility (APF) to buy "high-quality assets financed by the issue of Treasury bills and the DMO's cash management operations" and thereby improve liquidity in the credit markets. It has, since March 2009, also provided the mechanism by which the bank's policy of quantitative easing (QE) is achieved, under the auspices of the MPC. Along with managing the QE funds, which were £895 bn at peak, the APF continues to operate its corporate facilities. Both are undertaken by a subsidiary company of the Bank of England, the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund Limited (BEAPFF).

QE was primarily designed as an instrument of monetary policy. The mechanism required the Bank of England to purchase government bonds on the secondary market, financed by creating new central bank money. This would have the effect of increasing the asset prices of the bonds purchased, thereby lowering yields and dampening longer-term interest rates. The policy's aim was initially to ease liquidity constraints in the sterling reserves system but evolved into a wider policy to provide economic stimulus.

QE was enacted in six tranches between 2009 and 2020. At its peak in 2020, the portfolio totalled £895 billion, comprising £875 billion of UK government bonds and £20 billion of high-grade commercial bonds.

In February 2022, the Bank of England announced its intention to commence winding down the QE portfolio. Initially this would be achieved by not replacing tranches of maturing bonds, and would later be accelerated through active bond sales.

In August 2022, the Bank of England reiterated its intention to accelerate the QE wind-down through active bond sales. This policy was affirmed in an exchange of letters between the Bank of England and the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer in September 2022. Between February 2022 and September 2022, a total of £37.1bn of government bonds matured, reducing the outstanding stock from £875.0bn at the end of 2021 to £837.9bn. In addition, a total of £1.1bn of corporate bonds matured, reducing the stock from £20.0bn to £18.9bn, with sales of the remaining stock planned to begin on 27 September.

Banknote issues
The bank has issued banknotes since 1694. Notes were originally hand-written; although they were partially printed from 1725 onwards, cashiers still had to sign each note and make them payable to someone. Notes were fully printed from 1855. Until 1928 all notes were "White Notes", printed in black and with a blank reverse. In the 18th and 19th centuries, White Notes were issued in £1 and £2 denominations. During the 20th century, White Notes were issued in denominations between £5 and £1000. Until the passing of the Gold Standard Act 1925 the bank was obliged to pay on demand the value of the note in gold coin to its bearer.

In 1724 the bank entered into a contract with Henry Portal of Whitchurch, Hampshire to provide high-quality paper for the printing of banknotes. The printing itself was undertaken by private printing firms; the copper plates were kept in the vault, and accompanied during their time at the printer by a bank clerk (who would record the number of copies made); once dry they would be delivered to the bank. The printing operation was brought within the bank's premises (albeit still under private contract) in 1791; in 1808 it was brought fully in-house.

Until the mid-19th century, commercial banks were allowed to issue their own banknotes, and notes issued by provincial banking companies were commonly in circulation. The Bank Charter Act 1844 began the process of restricting note issue to the bank; new banks were prohibited from issuing their own banknotes, and existing note-issuing banks were not permitted to expand their issue. As provincial banking companies merged to form larger banks, they lost their right to issue notes, and the English private banknote eventually disappeared, leaving the bank with a monopoly of note issues in England and Wales. The last private bank to issue its own banknotes in England and Wales was Fox, Fowler and Company in 1921. However, the limitations of the 1844 Act only affected banks in England and Wales, and today three commercial banks in Scotland and four in Northern Ireland continue to issue their own banknotes, regulated by the bank.

At the start of the First World War, the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1914 was passed, which granted temporary powers to HM Treasury for issuing banknotes to the values of £1 and 10/- (ten shillings). Treasury notes had full legal tender status and were not convertible into gold through the bank; they replaced the gold coin in circulation to prevent a run on sterling and to enable raw material purchases for armament production. These notes featured an image of King George V (Bank of England notes did not begin to display an image of the monarch until 1960). The wording on each note was:

"UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND – Currency notes are Legal Tender for the payment of any amount – Issued by the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury under the Authority of Act of Parliament (4 & 5 Geo. V c.14)."

Treasury notes were issued until 1928 when the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1928 returned note-issuing powers to the banks. The Bank of England issued notes for ten shillings and one pound for the first time on 22 November 1928.

During the Second World War, the German Operation Bernhard attempted to counterfeit denominations between £5 and £50, producing 500,000 notes each month in 1943. The original plan was to parachute the money into the UK in an attempt to destabilise the British economy, but it was found more useful to use the notes to pay German agents operating throughout Europe. Although most fell into Allied hands at the end of the war, forgeries frequently appeared for years afterward, which led banknote denominations above £5 to be removed from circulation.

In 2006, over £53 million in banknotes belonging to the bank was stolen from a depot in Tonbridge, Kent.

In 1917 the bank had moved its printing operation into St Luke's Printing Works, a former hospital; in 1958 it moved out to Debden. Modern banknotes are printed by contract with De La Rue Currency in Loughton, Essex.

Branch offices
For most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the bank had a number of branches in London and other English cities.

The first branches opened in 1826 (with impetus provided by the passing of the Country Bankers Act, which for the first time permitted the establishment of joint-stock banks outside London). The bank envisaged that the new network of branches would 'increase the circulation of Bank Notes, give the bank much more complete control over the whole paper circulation, and protect the bank against the competition of larger banking Companies'. Each branch was overseen by an Agent (a person of 'commercial knowledge, with local experience'). By 1829 there were eleven branches operating (ten in England and one in Wales). Some of the less profitable branches were relatively short-lived, but others continued operating into the 1990s.

In 1997 the five last remaining branches closed; the Agents, however, were retained, with a structure of Regional Agencies created (across the UK), some of which were based in former branch buildings.

Governors
Following is a list of the governors of the Bank of England since the beginning of the 20th century:

Court of Directors
The Court of Directors is a unitary board that is responsible for setting the organisation's strategy and budget and making key decisions on resourcing and appointments. It consists of five executive members from the bank (the Governor and the four Deputy Governors, each of whom oversees a different area of the bank's work), plus up to 9 non-executive members, all of whom are appointed by the Crown. The Chancellor selects the Chairman of the Court from among the non-executive members. The Court is required to meet at least seven times a year.

The Governor serves for a period of eight years, the Deputy Governors for five years, and the non-executive members for up to four years.

Other staff
The Secretary of the Bank of England is today responsible for the banks governance and ethics: 'He is responsible for ensuring the organisation is well run and advises our Court of Directors [...] He is also our conflicts officer and supports the Government when it makes appointments to our policy committees and Court of Directors'.

Since 2013, the bank has had a chief operating officer (COO) with the status and remuneration of a Deputy Governor. , the bank's COO is Ben Stimson; he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the bank, including Human Resources, Property, IT and Security.

Some twenty Executive Directors work alongside the Governors, forming 'the wider executive management team'. Among their number are the bank's chief economist (Huw Pill since 2021), and chief cashier.

title: Bank of England


text:
Bakelite

Bakelite, formally , is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York, in 1907, and patented on December 7, 1909.

Bakelite was one of the first plastic-like materials to be introduced into the modern world and was popular because it could be moulded and then hardened into any shape.

Because of its electrical nonconductivity and heat-resistant properties, it became a great commercial success. It was used in electrical insulators, radio and telephone casings, and such diverse products as kitchenware, jewelry, pipe stems, children's toys, and firearms.

The retro appeal of old Bakelite products has made them collectible.

The creation of a synthetic plastic was revolutionary for the chemical industry, which at the time made most of its income from cloth dyes and explosives. Bakelite's commercial success inspired the industry to develop other synthetic plastics. As the world's first commercial synthetic plastic, Bakelite was named a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society.

History
Bakelite was produced for the first time in 1872 by Adolf von Baeyer, though its use as a commercial product was not considered at the time.

Leo Baekeland was already wealthy due to his invention of Velox photographic paper when he began to investigate the reactions of phenol and formaldehyde in his home laboratory. Chemists had begun to recognize that many natural resins and fibers were polymers. Baekeland's initial intent was to find a replacement for shellac, a material in limited supply because it was made naturally from the secretion of lac insects (specifically Kerria lacca). He produced a soluble phenol-formaldehyde shellac called Novolak, but it was not a market success, even though it is still used to this day (e.g., as a photoresist).

He then began experimenting on strengthening wood by impregnating it with a synthetic resin rather than coating it. By controlling the pressure and temperature applied to phenol and formaldehyde, he produced a hard moldable material that he named Bakelite, after himself. It was the first synthetic thermosetting plastic produced, and Baekeland speculated on "the thousand and one ... articles" it could be used to make. He considered the possibilities of using a wide variety of filling materials, including cotton, powdered bronze, and slate dust, but was most successful with wood and asbestos fibers, though asbestos was gradually abandoned by all manufacturers due to stricter environmental laws.

Baekeland filed a substantial number of related patents. Bakelite, his "method of making insoluble products of phenol and formaldehyde", was filed on July 13, 1907, and granted on December 7, 1909. He also filed for patent protection in other countries, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and Spain. He announced his invention at a meeting of the American Chemical Society on February 5, 1909.

Baekeland started semi-commercial production of his new material in his home laboratory, marketing it as a material for electrical insulators. In the summer of 1909, he licensed the continental European rights to Rütger AG. The subsidiary formed at that time, Bakelite AG, was the first to produce Bakelite on an industrial scale.

By 1910, Baekeland was producing enough material in the US to justify expansion. He formed the General Bakelite Company of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as a U.S. company to manufacture and market his new industrial material, and made overseas connections to produce it in other countries.

The Bakelite Company produced "transparent" cast resin (which did not include filler) for a small market during the 1910s and 1920s. Blocks or rods of cast resin, also known as "artificial amber", were machined and carved to create items such as pipe stems, cigarette holders, and jewelry. However, the demand for molded plastics led the company to concentrate on molding rather than cast solid resins.

The Bakelite Corporation was formed in 1922 after patent litigation favorable to Baekeland, from a merger of three companies: Baekeland's General Bakelite Company; the Condensite Company, founded by J. W. Aylesworth; and the Redmanol Chemical Products Company, founded by Lawrence V. Redman. Under director of advertising and public relations Allan Brown, who came to Bakelite from Condensite, Bakelite was aggressively marketed as "the material of a thousand uses". A filing for a trademark featuring the letter B above the mathematical symbol for infinity was made August 25, 1925, and claimed the mark was in use as of December 1, 1924. A wide variety of uses were listed in their trademark applications.

The first issue of Plastics magazine, October 1925, featured Bakelite on its cover and included the article "Bakelite – What It Is" by Allan Brown. The range of colors that were available included "black, brown, red, yellow, green, gray, blue, and blends of two or more of these". The article emphasized that Bakelite came in various forms.

"Bakelite is manufactured in several forms to suit varying requirements. In all these forms the fundamental basis is the initial Bakelite resin. This variety includes clear material, for jewelry, smokers' articles, etc.; cement, for sealing electric light bulbs in metal bases; varnishes, for impregnating electric coils, etc.; lacquers, for protecting the surface of hardware; enamels, for giving resistive coating to industrial equipment; Laminated Bakelite, used for silent gears and insulation; and molding material, from which are formed innumerable articles of utility and beauty. The molding material is prepared ordinarily by the impregnation of cellulose substances with the initial "uncured" resin."

In a 1925 report, the United States Tariff Commission hailed the commercial manufacture of synthetic phenolic resin as "distinctly an American achievement", and noted that "the publication of figures, however, would be a virtual disclosure of the production of an individual company".

In England, Bakelite Limited, a merger of three British phenol formaldehyde resin suppliers (Damard Lacquer Company Limited of Birmingham, Mouldensite Limited of Darley Dale and Redmanol Chemical Products Company of London), was formed in 1926. A new Bakelite factory opened in Tyseley, Birmingham, around 1928. It was the "heart of Bakelite production in the UK" until it closed in 1987.

A factory to produce phenolic resins and precursors opened in Bound Brook, New Jersey, in 1931.

In 1939, the companies were acquired by Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation.

In 2005, German Bakelite manufacturer Bakelite AG was acquired by Borden Chemical of Columbus, Ohio, now Hexion Inc.

In addition to the original Bakelite material, these companies eventually made a wide range of other products, many of which were marketed under the brand name "Bakelite plastics". These included other types of cast phenolic resins similar to Catalin, and urea-formaldehyde resins, which could be made in brighter colors than.

Once Baekeland's heat and pressure patents expired in 1927, Bakelite Corporation faced serious competition from other companies. Because molded Bakelite incorporated fillers to give it strength, it tended to be made in concealing dark colors. In 1927, beads, bangles, and earrings were produced by the Catalin company, through a different process which enabled them to introduce 15 new colors. Translucent jewelry, poker chips and other items made of phenolic resins were introduced in the 1930s or 1940s by the Catalin company under the Prystal name. The creation of marbled phenolic resins may also be attributable to the Catalin company.

Synthesis
Making Bakelite is a multi-stage process. It begins with the heating of phenol and formaldehyde in the presence of a catalyst such as hydrochloric acid, zinc chloride, or the base ammonia. This creates a liquid condensation product, referred to as Bakelite A, which is soluble in alcohol, acetone, or additional phenol. Heated further, the product becomes partially soluble and can still be softened by heat. Sustained heating results in an "insoluble hard gum". However, the high temperatures required to create this tend to cause violent foaming of the mixture when done at standard atmospheric pressure, which results in the cooled material being porous and breakable. Baekeland's innovative step was to put his "last condensation product" into an egg-shaped "Bakelizer". By heating it under pressure, at about 150 C, Baekeland was able to suppress the foaming that would otherwise occur. The resulting substance is extremely hard and both infusible and insoluble.

Compression molding

Molded Bakelite forms in a condensation reaction of phenol and formaldehyde, with wood flour or asbestos fiber as a filler, under high pressure and heat in a time frame of a few minutes of curing. The result is a hard plastic material. Asbestos was gradually abandoned as filler because many countries banned the production of asbestos.

Bakelite's molding process had a number of advantages. Bakelite resin could be provided either as powder or as preformed partially cured slugs, increasing the speed of the casting. Thermosetting resins such as Bakelite required heat and pressure during the molding cycle but could be removed from the molding process without being cooled, again making the molding process faster. Also, because of the smooth polished surface that resulted, Bakelite objects required less finishing. Millions of parts could be duplicated quickly and relatively cheaply.

Phenolic sheet
Another market for Bakelite resin was the creation of phenolic sheet materials. A phenolic sheet is a hard, dense material made by applying heat and pressure to layers of paper or glass cloth impregnated with synthetic resin. Paper, cotton fabrics, synthetic fabrics, glass fabrics, and unwoven fabrics are all possible materials used in lamination. When heat and pressure are applied, polymerization transforms the layers into thermosetting industrial laminated plastic.

Bakelite phenolic sheet is produced in many commercial grades and with various additives to meet diverse mechanical, electrical, and thermal requirements. Some common types include:
 * Paper reinforced NEMA XX per MIL-I-24768 PBG. Normal electrical applications, moderate mechanical strength, continuous operating temperature of 250 °F.
 * Canvas-reinforced NEMA C per MIL-I-24768 TYPE FBM NEMA CE per MIL-I-24768 TYPE FBG. Good mechanical and impact strength with a continuous operating temperature of 250 °F.
 * Linen-reinforced NEMA L per MIL-I-24768 TYPE FBI NEMA LE per MIL-I-24768 TYPE FEI. Good mechanical and electrical strength. Recommended for intricate high-strength parts. Continuous operating temperature convert 250 °F.
 * Nylon reinforced NEMA N-1 per MIL-I-24768 TYPE NPG. Superior electrical properties under humid conditions, fungus resistant, continuous operating temperature of 160 °F.

Properties
Bakelite has a number of important properties. It can be molded very quickly, decreasing production time. Moldings are smooth, retain their shape, and are resistant to heat, scratches, and destructive solvents. It is also resistant to electricity, and prized for its low conductivity. It is not flexible.

Phenolic resin products may swell slightly under conditions of extreme humidity or perpetual dampness. When rubbed or burnt, Bakelite has a distinctive, acrid, sickly-sweet or fishy odor.

Applications and uses
The characteristics of Bakelite made it particularly suitable as a molding compound, an adhesive or binding agent, a varnish, and a protective coating, as well as for the emerging electrical and automobile industries because of its extraordinarily high resistance to electricity, heat, and chemical action.

The earliest commercial use of Bakelite in the electrical industry was the molding of tiny insulating bushings, made in 1908 for the Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation by Richard W. Seabury of the Boonton Rubber Company. Bakelite was soon used for non-conducting parts of telephones, radios, and other electrical devices, including bases and sockets for light bulbs and electron tubes (vacuum tubes), supports for any type of electrical components, automobile distributor caps, and other insulators. By 1912, it was being used to make billiard balls, since its elasticity and the sound it made were similar to ivory.

During World War I, Bakelite was used widely, particularly in electrical systems. Important projects included the Liberty airplane engine, the wireless telephone and radio phone, and the use of micarta-bakelite propellers in the NBS-1 bomber and the DH-4B aeroplane.

Bakelite's availability and ease and speed of molding helped to lower the costs and increase product availability so that telephones and radios became common household consumer goods. It was also very important to the developing automobile industry. It was soon found in myriad other consumer products ranging from pipe stems and buttons to saxophone mouthpieces, cameras, early machine guns, and appliance casings. Bakelite was also very commonly used in making molded grip panels on handguns, as furniture for submachine guns and machineguns, the classic Bakelite magazines for Kalashnikov rifles, as well as numerous knife handles and "scales" through the first half of the 20th century.

Beginning in the 1920s, it became a popular material for jewelry. Designer Coco Chanel included Bakelite bracelets in her costume jewelry collections. Designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli used it for jewelry and also for specially designed dress buttons. Later, Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue, was enthusiastic about Bakelite. Bakelite was also used to make presentation boxes for Breitling watches.

By 1930, designer Paul T. Frankl considered Bakelite a "Materia Nova", "expressive of our own age". By the 1930s, Bakelite was used for game pieces like chess pieces, poker chips, dominoes, and mahjong sets. Kitchenware made with Bakelite, including canisters and tableware, was promoted for its resistance to heat and to chipping. In the mid-1930s, Northland marketed a line of skis with a black "Ebonite" base, a coating of Bakelite. By 1935, it was used in solid-body electric guitars. Performers such as Jerry Byrd loved the tone of Bakelite guitars but found them difficult to keep in tune.

Charles Plimpton patented BAYKO in 1933 and rushed out his first construction sets for Christmas 1934. He called the toy Bayko Light Constructional Sets, the words "Bayko Light" being a pun on the word "Bakelite".

During World War II, Bakelite was used in a variety of wartime equipment including pilots' goggles and field telephones. It was also used for patriotic wartime jewelry. In 1943, the thermosetting phenolic resin was even considered for the manufacture of coins, due to a shortage of traditional material. Bakelite and other non-metal materials were tested for usage for the one cent coin in the US before the Mint settled on zinc-coated steel.

During World War II, Bakelite buttons were part of British uniforms. These included brown buttons for the Army and black buttons for the RAF.

In 1947, Dutch art forger Han van Meegeren was convicted of forgery, after chemist and curator Paul B. Coremans proved that a purported Vermeer contained Bakelite, which van Meegeren had used as a paint hardener.

Bakelite was sometimes used in the pistol grip, hand guard, and buttstock of firearms. The AKM and some early AK-74 rifles are frequently mistakenly identified as using Bakelite, but most were made with AG-4S.

By the late 1940s, newer materials were superseding Bakelite in many areas. Phenolics are less frequently used in general consumer products today due to their cost and complexity of production and their brittle nature. They still appear in some applications where their specific properties are required, such as small precision-shaped components, molded disc brake cylinders, saucepan handles, electrical plugs, switches and parts for electrical irons, printed circuit boards, as well as in the area of inexpensive board and tabletop games produced in China, Hong Kong, and India. Items such as billiard balls, dominoes and pieces for board games such as chess, checkers, and backgammon are constructed of Bakelite for its look, durability, fine polish, weight, and sound. Common dice are sometimes made of Bakelite for weight and sound, but the majority are made of a thermoplastic polymer such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Bakelite continues to be used for wire insulation, brake pads and related automotive components, and industrial electrical-related applications. Bakelite stock is still manufactured and produced in sheet, rod, and tube form for industrial applications in the electronics, power generation, and aerospace industries, and under a variety of commercial brand names.

Phenolic resins have been commonly used in ablative heat shields. Soviet heatshields for ICBM warheads and spacecraft reentry consisted of asbestos textolite, impregnated with Bakelite. Bakelite is also used in the mounting of metal samples in metallography.

Collectible status

Bakelite items, particularly jewelry and radios, have become popular collectibles.

The term Bakelite is sometimes used in the resale market as a catch-all for various types of early plastics, including Catalin and Faturan, which may be brightly colored, as well as items made of true Bakelite material.

Patents
The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Baekeland a patent for a "Method of making insoluble products of phenol and formaldehyde" on December 7, 1909. Producing hard, compact, insoluble, and infusible condensation products of phenols and formaldehyde marked the beginning of the modern plastics industry.

Similar plastics

 * Catalin is also a phenolic resin, similar to Bakelite, but contains different mineral fillers that allow the production of light colors.
 * Condensites are similar thermoset materials having much the same properties, characteristics, and uses.
 * Crystalate is an early plastic.
 * Faturan is a phenolic resin, also similar to Bakelite, that turns red over time, regardless of its original color.
 * Galalith is an early plastic derived from milk products.
 * Micarta is an early composite insulating plate that used Bakelite as a binding agent. It was developed in 1910 by Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg Co.
 * Novotext is a brand name for cotton textile-phenolic resin.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Bakelite


text:
Bean

A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world.

Terminology
The word "bean" and its Germanic cognates (e.g. German Bohne) have existed in common use in West Germanic languages since before the 12th century, referring to broad beans, chickpeas, and other pod-borne seeds. This was long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe. With the Columbian exchange of domestic plants between Europe and the Americas, use of the word was extended to pod-borne seeds of Phaseolus, such as the common bean and the runner bean, and the related genus Vigna. The term has long been applied generally to many other seeds of similar form, such as Old World soybeans, peas, other vetches, and lupins, and even to those with slighter resemblances, such as coffee beans, vanilla beans, castor beans, and cocoa beans. Thus the term "bean" in general usage can refer to a host of different species.

Seeds called "beans" are often included among the crops called "pulses" (legumes), although the words are not always interchangeable (usage varies by plant variety and by region). Both terms, beans and pulses, are usually reserved for grain crops and thus exclude those legumes that have tiny seeds and are used exclusively for non-grain purposes (forage, hay, and silage), such as clover and alfalfa. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization defines "BEANS, DRY" (item code 176) as applicable only to species of Phaseolus. This is one of various examples of how narrower word senses enforced in trade regulations or botany often coexist in natural language with broader senses in culinary use and general use; other common examples are the narrow sense of the word nut and the broader sense of the word nut, and the fact that tomatoes are fruit, botanically speaking, but are often treated as vegetables in culinary and general usage. Relatedly, another detail of usage is that several species of plants that are sometimes called beans, including Vigna angularis (azuki bean), mungo (black gram), radiata (green gram), and aconitifolia (moth bean), were once classified as Phaseolus but later reclassified—but the taxonomic revision does not entirely stop the use of well-established senses in general usage.

Cultivation

Unlike the closely related pea, beans are a summer crop that needs warm temperatures to grow. Legumes are capable of nitrogen fixation and hence need less fertiliser than most plants. Maturity is typically 55–60 days from planting to harvest. As the bean pods mature, they turn yellow and dry up, and the beans inside change from green to their mature colour that they have when fully ripe. Many beans are vines, as such the plants need external support, which may take the form of special "bean cages" or poles. Native Americans customarily grew them along with corn and squash (the so-called Three Sisters), with the tall cornstalks acting as support for the beans.

In more recent times, the so-called "bush bean" has been developed which does not require support and has all its pods develop simultaneously (as opposed to pole beans which develop gradually). This makes the bush bean more practical for commercial production.

History

Beans were an important source of protein throughout Old and New World history, and still are today.

Beans are one of the longest-cultivated plants in history. Broad beans, also called fava beans, are in their wild state the size of a small fingernail, and were first gathered in Afghanistan and the Himalayan foothills. An early cultivated form were grown in Thailand from the early seventh millennium BCE, predating ceramics. Beans were deposited with the dead in ancient Egypt. Not until the second millennium BCE did cultivated, large-seeded broad beans appear in the Aegean region, Iberia, and transalpine Europe. In the Iliad (8th century BCE), there is a passing mention of beans and chickpeas cast on the threshing floor.

The oldest-known domesticated beans in the Americas were found in Guitarrero Cave, an archaeological site in Peru, and dated to around the second millennium BCE. Genetic analyses of the common bean Phaseolus show that it originated in Mesoamerica, and subsequently spread southward, along with maize and squash, traditional companion crops.

Most of the kinds of beans commonly eaten today are part of the genus Phaseolus, which originated in the Americas. The first European to encounter them was Christopher Columbus, while exploring what may have been the Bahamas, and saw them growing in fields. Five kinds of Phaseolus beans were domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples: common beans (P. vulgaris) grown from Chile to the northern part of what is now the United States; and lima and sieva beans (P. lunatus); as well as the less widely distributed teparies (P. acutifolius), scarlet runner beans (P. coccineus), and polyanthus beans.

One well-documented use of beans by pre-Columbian people as far north as the Atlantic seaboard is the "Three Sisters" method of companion plant cultivation: Many tribes would grow beans together with maize or "corn", and squash. The corn would not be planted in rows as is done by European agriculture, but in a checkerboard/hex fashion across a field, in separate patches of one to six stalks each. Beans would be planted around the base of the developing stalks, and would vine their way up as the stalks grew. All American beans at that time were vine plants; "bush beans" were cultivated more recently. The cornstalks would work as a trellis for the bean plants, and the beans would provide much-needed nitrogen for the corn. Squash would be planted in the spaces between the patches of corn in the field. They would be provided slight shelter from the sun by the corn, would shade the soil and reduce evaporation, and would deter many animals from attacking the corn and beans because their coarse, hairy vines and broad, stiff leaves are difficult or uncomfortable for animals such as deer and raccoons to walk through, crows to land on, and are a deterrent to other animals as well.

Beans were cultivated across Chile in Pre-Hispanic times, likely as far south as Chiloé Archipelago.

Dry beans come from both Old World varieties of broad beans (fava beans) and New World varieties (kidney, black, cranberry, pinto, navy/haricot).

Common genera and species

Most of the foods we call "beans", "legumes", "lentils" and "pulses" belong to the same family, Fabaceae ("leguminous" plants), but are from different genera and species, native to different homelands and distributed worldwide depending on their adaptability. Many varieties are eaten both fresh (the whole pod, and the immature beans may or may not be inside) or shelled (immature seeds, mature and fresh seeds, or mature and dried seeds). Numerous legumes look similar, and have become naturalized in locations across the world, which often lead to similar names for different species.

Bean seed storage
As of 2023, the Norwegian Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds more than 40,000 accessions of Phaseolus bean species.

Nutrition
Raw green beans are 90% water, 7% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and contain negligible fat (table). In a 100 g reference serving, raw green beans supply 31 calories of food energy, and are a moderate source (10-19% of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C (15% DV) and vitamin B6 (11% DV), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).

Antinutrients
Many types of bean like kidney bean contain significant amounts of antinutrients that inhibit some enzyme processes in the body. Phytic acid and phytates, present in grains, nuts, seeds and beans, interfere with bone growth and interrupt vitamin D metabolism. Pioneering work on the effect of phytic acid was done by Edward Mellanby from 1939.

Toxins
Some kinds of raw beans contain a harmful, tasteless toxin: the lectin phytohaemagglutinin, which must be removed by cooking. Red kidney beans are particularly toxic, but other types also pose risks of food poisoning. Even small quantities (4 or 5 raw beans) may cause severe stomachache, vomiting, and diarrhea. This risk does not apply to canned beans because they have already been cooked. A recommended method is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes; under-cooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans.

Cooking beans, without bringing them to a boil, in a slow cooker at a temperature well below boiling may not destroy toxins. A case of poisoning by butter beans used to make falafel was reported; the beans were used instead of traditional broad beans or chickpeas, soaked and ground without boiling, made into patties, and shallow fried.

Bean poisoning is not well known in the medical community, and many cases may be misdiagnosed or never reported; figures appear not to be available. In the case of the UK National Poisons Information Service, available only to health professionals, the dangers of beans other than red beans were not flagged.

Fermentation is used in some parts of Africa to improve the nutritional value of beans by removing toxins. Inexpensive fermentation improves the nutritional impact of flour from dry beans and improves digestibility, according to research co-authored by Emire Shimelis, from the Food Engineering Program at Addis Ababa University. Beans are a major source of dietary protein in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Bacterial infection from bean sprouts
It is common to make beansprouts by letting some types of bean, often mung beans, germinate in moist and warm conditions; beansprouts may be used as ingredients in cooked dishes, or eaten raw or lightly cooked. There have been many outbreaks of disease from bacterial contamination, often by salmonella, listeria, and Escherichia coli, of beansprouts not thoroughly cooked, some causing significant mortality.

Flatulence
Many edible beans, including broad beans, navy beans, kidney beans and soybeans, contain oligosaccharides (particularly raffinose and stachyose), a type of sugar molecule also found in cabbage. An anti-oligosaccharide enzyme is necessary to properly digest these sugar molecules. As a normal human digestive tract does not contain any anti-oligosaccharide enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are typically digested by bacteria in the large intestine. This digestion process produces gases, such as methane as a byproduct, which are then released as flatulence.

Production

The production data for legumes are published by FAO in three categories:
 * 1) Pulses dry: all mature and dry seeds of leguminous plants except soybeans and groundnuts.
 * 2) Oil crops: soybeans and groundnuts.
 * 3) Fresh vegetable: immature green fresh fruits of leguminous plants.

The following is a summary of FAO data.

Main crops of "Pulses, Total (dry)" are "Beans, dry [176]" 26.83 million tons, "Peas, dry [187]" 14.36 million tons, "Chick peas [191]" 12.09 million tons, "Cow peas [195]" 6.99 million tons, "Lentils [201]" 6.32 million tons, "Pigeon peas [197]" 4.49 million tons, "Broad beans, horse beans [181]" 4.46 million tons. In general, the consumption of pulses per capita has been decreasing since 1961. Exceptions are lentils and cowpeas.

The world leader in production of dry beans (Phaseolus spp), is India, followed by Myanmar (Burma) and Brazil. In Africa, the most important producer is Tanzania.

No symbol = official figure, P = official figure, F = FAO estimate, * = unofficial/semi-official/mirror data, C = calculated figure A = aggregate (may include official, semi-official or estimates)

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

title: Bean