Dividend Day at the Bank of England

Dividend day at the Bank of England was when owners of Bank Stock collected their dividends. This painting highlights the diversity of the Bank’s customers.

As well as the smartly dressed men we might expect to see, the artist shows women, children visiting with their parents, and a man in a wheelchair. Behind the counter on the left, hard-working clerks serve the queue of customers.

The painting gives us a glimpse into life at the Bank in the nineteenth century. It shows the cats and dogs used to control vermin as well as the impressive architecture of John Soane’s Stock Office.