Our final post about our March museum of the month looks at a few of the documents, paper artifacts and banknotes lodged in the Bank of England Museum's collection.
We couldn't get you a shot of the million pound note, unfortunately, but go and gaze on its delicate, never cashed splendour in the museum when you can. Check out the Banknote Gallery too, with its range of issued notes dating from the late 17th century, original artwork by note designers, and an unrivalled collection of forgeries.
Just out side the gallery, the museum has a corner of the Rotunda dedicated to one its most famous employees, Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows, among other works. He rose through the Bank ranks to become Secretary but resigned in 1908. His handwritten resignation letter is on display, begging ill health. However, another letter is also on display, which suggests that Grahame was bullied at work. Sad to think that his delightful bucolic children's stories, written whilst employed at the Bank, were perhaps providing welcome escapism from the bureaucracy and oppressive grind of Bank life.
The Bank of England Museum's website could do with a revamp but there's a surprising amount of information available in it, if only you click in the right bits! Click on photos to get more info and take a walk through time with this rather natty interactive timeline. .
The museum is open Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm and is free to all.
