Bank Y Llong
Encyclopedia
Bank y Llong (officially known as the Aberystwith and Cardiganshire Bank) got its name from an engraving of a ship decorating its bank notes (Llong means "ship" in the Welsh language
). It was probably the first bank
in Aberystwyth
and was founded soon after the removal of the Custom House
from Aberdyfi
to Aberystwyth, around 1762 (but there is no evicence for this).
, London
and Derry Ormond, Ceredigion
, Thomas Morgan, an Aberystwyth solicitor and David Davies, of Machynlleth later of Aberystwyth, then of Castle Green House, Cardigan, entered into partnership
to carry on for 14 years a banking business under the name Jones, Morgan & Davies.
The partners were to raise the capital and share the profits in equal shares. John Jones had the right to nominate one of his sons to succeed him in the partnership if he died. If either of the other two partners died his interest in the business was to be calculated and the value paid to his executor
. Any partner could terminate the partnership upon six months’ notice.
preventing them from entering into any other banking activity. There was a requirement for an annual statement of account.
The bank premises, stucco
ed with cornice
d eaves, were located at 43 Bridge Street, Aberystwyth, in a row of three-storey late Georgian
houses. The building is still known as The Old Bank House.
Under an agreement dated 1 July 1806, made between Rice Jones, from Dolgellau
, and the partners in the Bank, Rice Jones became a bank clerk for three years at a salary of £30 per annum. He was given meat, drink, and lodging by David Davies, and the arrangement could be terminated by either party on six months’ notice. Rice Jones gave a guarantee bond
for the sum of £1000 to the Bank in return.
Thomas Williams died on 15 April 1839, aged 53. His name appears in a list of donors, having given a donation
of £100 towards the work in rebuilding St. Michael’s Church (built 1829-33), Aberystwyth in 1830.
on 12 August 1815, which stated that all local bank notes of the Bank would be paid at the banking house at Aberystwyth, while all notes payable in London would be paid at the house of Sir James Esdaile & Co., in London.
On 21 August 1816 the partners in the Bank made an assignment
of their debts, probably in order to liquidate the assets of the Bank for distribution between the partners.
Despite dissolution of the partnership in 1815, and payment of creditors in full, the business appeared to have been continued by Thomas Williams. In 1832, a bank was doing business in Bridge Street, Aberystwyth called Williams, Davies & Co., with London agents being Sir James Esdaile & Co.
In about 1815 Williams either continued the bank or established a new one. It was known as Williams, Davies and Co. Rice Jones later became a partner with Henry Benson (a wine dealer and sometime a mayor and coroner).
The North and South Wales Bank took it over on 15 August 1836 and paid Benson and Rice Jones £3,000. Rice Jones became the manager at a salary of £400.
The North and South Wales Bank was in New Street from about 1864 - 1885, then moved to a building on the south side of Great Darkgate Street. It planned to move over the road to a new building but while it was under construction, in 1908, the bank was taken over by the London, City and Midland Bank which later became the Midland.
When the bank was in Bridge Street it occupied a building owned by the Powells of Nanteos. It is listed in their rentals from 1815 (some of those for 1772-1795 exist but don’t mention a bank; those for 1796-1813 are missing). The names applied to the site are sometimes a little out of date since the list of rented properties was copied from one year to the next.
1815: referred to as the Aberystwyth Bank; 1816: Rentals missing; 1817-1819: referred to as the Banking Company; 1820-1826: referred to as Davies, Morris and Co; 1826-1835: referred to as the William, Davies and Co; 1834: referred to as the Williams, Davies, Benson, Jones and Co on map of Aberystwyth; 1836–1838; referred to as Messrs Benson and Co; 1839-1845: referred to as the Bank (property leased by Rice Jones Esq); 1846-1853: referred to as the North and South Wales bank; 1864: the property formerly occupied by the bank was available for lease.
and Aberystwyth Provident Bank for Savings, both had branches on Bridge Street, Aberystwyth.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
). It was probably the first bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
and was founded soon after the removal of the Custom House
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
from Aberdyfi
Aberdyfi
Aberdyfi , or Aberdovey is a village on the north side of the estuary of the River Dyfi in Gwynedd, on the west coast of Wales....
to Aberystwyth, around 1762 (but there is no evicence for this).
Establishment and partnership agreement
On 1 June 1806 an agreement was entered in to whereby John Jones, a London-Welsh surgeon and apothecary, of Gracechurch StreetGracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Derry Ormond, Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, Thomas Morgan, an Aberystwyth solicitor and David Davies, of Machynlleth later of Aberystwyth, then of Castle Green House, Cardigan, entered into partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
to carry on for 14 years a banking business under the name Jones, Morgan & Davies.
The partners were to raise the capital and share the profits in equal shares. John Jones had the right to nominate one of his sons to succeed him in the partnership if he died. If either of the other two partners died his interest in the business was to be calculated and the value paid to his executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
. Any partner could terminate the partnership upon six months’ notice.
Bank premises and staff
It is not clear if the 1806 agreement represented a variation of the earlier 1762 bank business, or the establishment of a new bank. The business was to be carried on in Aberystwyth and there was a restrictive covenantRestrictive covenant
A restrictive covenant is a type of real covenant, a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property...
preventing them from entering into any other banking activity. There was a requirement for an annual statement of account.
The bank premises, stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed with cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
d eaves, were located at 43 Bridge Street, Aberystwyth, in a row of three-storey late Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
houses. The building is still known as The Old Bank House.
Under an agreement dated 1 July 1806, made between Rice Jones, from Dolgellau
Dolgellau
Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...
, and the partners in the Bank, Rice Jones became a bank clerk for three years at a salary of £30 per annum. He was given meat, drink, and lodging by David Davies, and the arrangement could be terminated by either party on six months’ notice. Rice Jones gave a guarantee bond
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
for the sum of £1000 to the Bank in return.
Succession
Between 1806 and 1808, Thomas Morgan died and the partnership admitted Thomas Williams of Aberystwyth as replacement partner. By means of an indenture dated 13 September 1808, Thomas Williams acquired a one-third share in the Bank, and otherwise on terms identical to the partnership deed of 1806. He was probably the brother of Evan Williams, with whom he was in partnership in a printing business in London, and which printed the first edition of Dr W.O. Pughe’s Welsh Dictionary.Thomas Williams died on 15 April 1839, aged 53. His name appears in a list of donors, having given a donation
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
of £100 towards the work in rebuilding St. Michael’s Church (built 1829-33), Aberystwyth in 1830.
Dissolution and regeneration
In 1815 the partnership was dissolved and a notice of dissolution appeared in the London GazetteLondon Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 12 August 1815, which stated that all local bank notes of the Bank would be paid at the banking house at Aberystwyth, while all notes payable in London would be paid at the house of Sir James Esdaile & Co., in London.
On 21 August 1816 the partners in the Bank made an assignment
Assignment
'Assignment may refer to:* Assignment , a type of modification to a variable* Assignment , a task given to students by their teachers to be completed out of the class time....
of their debts, probably in order to liquidate the assets of the Bank for distribution between the partners.
Despite dissolution of the partnership in 1815, and payment of creditors in full, the business appeared to have been continued by Thomas Williams. In 1832, a bank was doing business in Bridge Street, Aberystwyth called Williams, Davies & Co., with London agents being Sir James Esdaile & Co.
In about 1815 Williams either continued the bank or established a new one. It was known as Williams, Davies and Co. Rice Jones later became a partner with Henry Benson (a wine dealer and sometime a mayor and coroner).
The North and South Wales Bank took it over on 15 August 1836 and paid Benson and Rice Jones £3,000. Rice Jones became the manager at a salary of £400.
The North and South Wales Bank was in New Street from about 1864 - 1885, then moved to a building on the south side of Great Darkgate Street. It planned to move over the road to a new building but while it was under construction, in 1908, the bank was taken over by the London, City and Midland Bank which later became the Midland.
When the bank was in Bridge Street it occupied a building owned by the Powells of Nanteos. It is listed in their rentals from 1815 (some of those for 1772-1795 exist but don’t mention a bank; those for 1796-1813 are missing). The names applied to the site are sometimes a little out of date since the list of rented properties was copied from one year to the next.
1815: referred to as the Aberystwyth Bank; 1816: Rentals missing; 1817-1819: referred to as the Banking Company; 1820-1826: referred to as Davies, Morris and Co; 1826-1835: referred to as the William, Davies and Co; 1834: referred to as the Williams, Davies, Benson, Jones and Co on map of Aberystwyth; 1836–1838; referred to as Messrs Benson and Co; 1839-1845: referred to as the Bank (property leased by Rice Jones Esq); 1846-1853: referred to as the North and South Wales bank; 1864: the property formerly occupied by the bank was available for lease.
Bank notes
There is one note for £1 in Ceredigion Museum (on loan from Powysland Museum) and another in the National Museum, Wales at St Fagans.Other Aberystwyth banks
Other Aberystwyth banks include Aberystwyth and Tregaron BankAberystwyth and Tregaron Bank
The bank officially known as the Aberystwith and Tregaron Bank was established at Aberystwyth, Ceredigion in the beginning of the 19th century and was locally known as ‘Banc y Ddafad Ddu’, because the bank notes were imprinted with an engraving of a black sheep...
and Aberystwyth Provident Bank for Savings, both had branches on Bridge Street, Aberystwyth.
External links
- Cerdigion Library, Local History Resources, Press Cuttings Collection
- http://yba.llgc.org.uk/en/s-WILL-EVA-1749.html The National Library of WalesNational Library of WalesThe National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
, Dictionary of Welsh BiographyDictionary of Welsh BiographyThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography is a dictionary of biographies of Welsh men and women who have made a unique contribution to Welsh life over seventeen centuries... - Money and Coins in Wales
- BizFace News Forum, Banking Crisis: "Lloyds was a safe bank in 1825", posted 22 October 2008 at 17:35 by Royston
- Aberystwyth Guide