The Birmingham Banking Company was a bank that operated in Birmingham, West Midlands from 1829 to 1889, and as The Metropolitan and Birmingham Bank from 1889 to 1892, the Metropolitan, Birmingham and South Wales Bank from 1892 to 1893, and the Metropolitan Bank (of England and Wales) from 1893 to 1914, when it was acquired by the Midland Bank.
This joint-stock bank was established on 30 September 1829 in Birmingham. [1] It was based upon the business of the Birmingham private bankers Gibbins & Lovell, established in 1825 by Joseph Gibbins and Edward Bourne Lovell, and initially traded from their premises in New Street. [2] The bank built itself a headquarters in Birmingham at the junction of Waterloo Street and Bennetts Hill which was constructed in 1830 to the designs of the architects Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson. [3] They moved into this new building in 1831. It was altered in 1868 by Yeoville Thomason; [4] and an extension in Bennetts Hill by Harris & Martin was added in 1881–4. [5]
The firm grew rapidly and by the mid 1830s it was one of Birmingham's strongest banks.
During the financial crisis of 1866 the bank suffered severe liquidity problems and failed on 14 July 1866 with liabilities of £1.8m (equivalent to £177,400,000in 2021) [6] against a capital of £280,000 (equivalent to £27,600,000in 2021). [6] It was the largest bank to fail during the banking crisis of the mid 1860s. [7] It was restructured and reopened in August 1866.
It amalgamated with the Royal Exchange Bank (formerly the Metropolitan Bank) in 1889 to form The Metropolitan and Birmingham Bank. [8] This amalgamation enabled the Birmingham company to facilitate its London business as the Royal Exchange Bank had a seat in the clearing house, and until this time the Birmingham bank had paid fees of several thousand pounds a year for cashing their cheques in the London Bankers' Clearing House. The nominal capital of the bank increased at this time from £3.5m to £5.0m [9] (equivalent to £588 million in 2021). [6]
On the acquisition of the South Wales Union in 1892 it was renamed the Metropolitan, Birmingham and South Wales Bank and on the acquisition of the National Bank of Wales in 1893 it changed its name again to the Metropolitan Bank (of England and Wales).
The Metropolitan Bank (of England and Wales) was acquired by the Midland Bank in 1914. [10] The branch on Bennetts Hill closed in 2002 and the building was converted for use as a wine bar.
Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007.
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington, is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following the popularisation of its water which was reputed to have medicinal qualities. In the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England. It is named after the River Leam, which flows through the town.
Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station in Birmingham City Centre, England. It is one of the three main city-centre stations in Birmingham, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street.
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
Leamington Spa railway station serves the town of Royal Leamington Spa, in Warwickshire, England. It is situated on Old Warwick Road towards the southern edge of the town centre. It is a major stop on the Chiltern Main Line between London and Birmingham, and the branch line to Coventry.
Kidderminster railway station is the main station serving the large town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England and the wider Wyre Forest district. The station is operated by West Midlands Trains, and is on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. Regular commuter services run to Birmingham and Worcester, with several direct daily services to/from London Marylebone. It shares its station approach with the adjacent Severn Valley Railway station.
The Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League is the oldest club cricket league in the United Kingdom, formed in 1888. It was the first ECB Premier League, being designated such in 1998, and is one of the strongest of the ECB Premier Leagues.
Trinity Catholic School is a mixed Catholic secondary school and sixth form located in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England.
The Birmingham-Kidderminster-Worcester Line is a railway line which runs from Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester via Stourbridge and Kidderminster in the West Midlands, England. It is one of the Snow Hill Lines, with trains operated by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways using a variety of rolling stock including Class 172 and Class 168 diesel units. It is a future aspiration of Network Rail to electrify the entire line, as well as the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone.
Stourbridge Junction is one of two railway stations serving the town of Stourbridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It lies on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line and is the junction for the Stourbridge Town Branch Line, said to be the shortest operational branch line in Europe. The other station serving Stourbridge is Stourbridge Town at the end of the branch line.
Bewdley railway station serves the town of Bewdley in Worcestershire, England. Until 2014, it was the administrative headquarters of the Severn Valley Railway, after which they were moved to Comberton Hill, Kidderminster. Bewdley is the principal intermediate station on the line.
Warwick railway station serves the town of Warwick in Warwickshire, England. The station is served by Chiltern Railways, and also less frequently by West Midlands Trains. It is located around half a mile north of the town centre.
Dorridge railway station serves the village of Dorridge in the West Midlands of England. The station is served by Chiltern Railways, who manage the station, and also by West Midlands Trains. It is situated 10+1⁄2 miles (16.9 km) south of Birmingham Snow Hill.
Widney Manor railway station serves the Widney Manor area of Solihull in the West Midlands of England. The station is served by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways. A significant portion of the car park occupies what used to be the formation when the line was four tracks wide and the former GWR London Paddington - Birkenhead Woodside service passed through the station but did not stop. This service ceased with the electrification of the former LMS line from London Euston to Birmingham New Street in 1967.
Solihull railway station serves the town of Solihull in the West Midlands of England. The station is served by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways. CrossCountry serve the station occasionally to replace stops at Coventry and Birmingham International during engineering work. Solihull used to have a regular Virgin CrossCountry service to Manchester Piccadilly, Blackpool North and Portsmouth Harbour until 2004, when all services through the station were made to run non-stop between Birmingham and Leamington Spa.
Droitwich Spa railway station serves the town of Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, England. It is located just to the south-west of Droitwich Spa Junction of the Worcester to Leamington Spa Line and the Worcester to Birmingham New Street line. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains, who also operate all trains serving it.
Rowley Regis railway station serves the town of Blackheath and the Rowley Regis area of Sandwell, in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. The station is managed by West Midlands Railway, who provide the majority of train services; there are also occasional services provided by Chiltern Railways.
The Snow Hill Lines is the collective name for the railway lines running through Birmingham Snow Hill, and Birmingham Moor Street stations in Birmingham, United Kingdom. They form an important part of the suburban rail network of Birmingham, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. All other lines to/through Birmingham use Birmingham New Street station. The Snow Hill lines carry around 20% of the daily rail services into Birmingham; the remainder use New Street.
The Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway was an English railway line promoted by the Great Western Railway to gain a route from its southern base towards the industrial centres of the West Midlands, and in due course the north-west. It overtook another GWR subsidiary, the unbuilt Oxford and Rugby Railway, and the Birmingham Extension Railway which was to build a new independent station in the city. It was authorised in 1846 and formed a single project to connect Birmingham and Oxford.
The Stourbridge and Kidderminster Bank was a bank that operated in England from 1834 until 1880 when it was taken over by the Birmingham Banking Company.
Coordinates: 52°28′48.26″N1°53′59.39″W / 52.4800722°N 1.8998306°W
