Consolidated Bank Ltd

Consolidated Bank Ltd (1863-1896) was a past constituent of NatWest.

This limited liability bank, the first in Manchester, was formed in 1863 by the amalgamation of Bank of Manchester and Heywood, Kennards & Co of London. It was based in both Manchester and London, with parity of shareholdings between the two and directors in both locations.

In 1863 the bank acquired Hankey & Co of London. It transferred its metropolitan office to Hankey & Co's premises in Fenchurch Street in 1864, and later to Threadneedle Street. A branch opened in Norwich in 1864.

In 1866 the bank acquired the business of Bank of London, but then encountered difficulties. Unprepared to cover Bank of London's acceptances, it temporarily stopped payment, but was able to reopen after 6 weeks.

The bank recovered during the 1870s. By 1877 its paid-up capital was £800,000, its reserves were £145,000 and it had branches in Salford, Hanging Ditch (Manchester) and Charing Cross (London). In 1874 the bank's Manchester head office moved to King Street.

From 1889 Consolidated Bank expanded its branch network, opening offices in Patricroft, Pendleton, Longsight, Leigh, Tyldesley, Redcliffe, Eccles, Knott Hill and Salford Cattle Market. The bank amalgamated with Parr's Banking Co & Alliance Bank in 1896.

Branches: at the time of the 1896 amalgamation, the bank was operating 14 branches.

Our archive holdings

A summary list of our archival records of Consolidated Bank Ltd can be found on the Archives Hub website.