Virtuous Bankers

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In March 1784, a Committee of Inspection concluded a yearlong review of the Bank of England, prompted by calls for economic reform amidst Empire disruption, domestic recession, and rising public debt. Utilizing the committee's minute books and various original sources, this narrative unfolds a day in the life of the Bank, starting at dawn and spanning a 24-hour cycle focused on clerks and the daily operations of banking. It encompasses the full spectrum of the Bank's activities, from the mundane tasks of clerks issuing notes and maintaining ledgers to the tumult of the financial market and threats from rioting crowds. The work reveals the Bank's inner workings, enhancing our understanding of the service sector's emergence, human capital's nature and value, and the debates surrounding the industrial revolution's causes. It delves into banking practices, including banknote production and bill discounting, while positioning the Bank within the cultural and physical landscape of the City. The Bank emerges as an aggressive property developer, a vulnerable institution seeking security, and a public entity fostering accessibility and aesthetic appeal. The narrative explains how this privately owned institution, while benefiting shareholders, became regarded as "a great engine of state," safeguarding the public credit essential for Britain's economic and geopolitical strength during the long eighteenth century.