Visiting a large city such as London can be particularly draining on the finances, especially if you have a large family in tow.

Fortunately, it's always good to know there are some worthwhile attractions which are free of charge. One of these is the Bank of England Museum which is open year round.


Brief history

The Bank of England dates back to its foundation by Royal Charter in 1694 and is sometimes known as the 'Old Lady' of Threadneedle Street. The building which houses the museum was originally built at its present position in 1734. However, it has since been rebuilt after World War I and was completed just before the start of the second world war. The museum was officially opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in November 1988.

Entering the museum

One of the first things to notice on your arrival at the museum, is the large window sign displaying the building's energy efficiency, or rather lack of it, since it was the lowest possible on the efficiency scale. Quite why the notice is there, remains unclear. Fortunately, it doesn't mean you will be subjected to intolerable temperatures on the inside.

At the reception you're asked to remove your bags and place then onto an airport style conveyor belt where they are all scanned. In the meantime visitors have to walk through a frame for personal scanning. Beware if you’re harboring an iPod in your pocket as you'll be likely to set off the alarms.

Once you're through, the receptionist provides you with a pamphlet outlining everything that you can find in the museum which also has a useful numbering system so you can easily find what you're interested in. Children are provided with their own quiz pack according to their age group and this include questions with hints to help them find specific objects in the museum. Upon completion they are presented with a small gift when they leave.

What to see in the museum

There is plenty to keep you absorbed inside the museum. For a start there are hundreds of bank notes on display, ranging right back to the late 17th century when they were simply handwritten notes. This includes one note which was written by King Charles the 2nd which promises to pay the bearer a sum of money. Apparently back then there was a great deal of resistance to the introduction of bank notes, namely because much of the population was unable to read. Everything on display is well documented so you're not left wondering what something is.

There is a wealth of information on important events which occured throughout the Bank’s history as well as various collections of items used during the bank's long history. Items of furniture on display include examples of early safes used to guard the gold bars. There are also some fascinating old bookkeeping ledgers which list the names and salaries of bank employees back in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Interactive activities

There are many interactive activities which are fun for adults and children. One such activity involves cracking a safe code by answering questions. Each correct question corresponds with one of the safe numbers. If you answer all the questions correctly, you'll have the code. This is not at all easy but it's fun trying it out.

Another activity invites you to test your strength by lifting a 13 kg/28.6 lb solid gold bar worth £265,000 ($427,551) at the time of writing. Needless to say, it's well protected behind reinforced glass, but has a hole cut out which is large enough to slide your arm through. The notice on the glass case invites you to try lifting it with one hand. It's deceptively heavy and you need a good set of muscles to lift it.

One frustratingly difficult activity is balancing the inflation bar. This consists of a clear tube with a large silver ball bearing inside. One end of the tube represents inflation and other, interest rates.  Your task is to carefully tilt the inflation bar so the ball rolls along and balances so interest rates and inflation are at 2 percent. This is about half way along. It's next to impossible, mirroring real life.

Where to find it

The Bank of England Museum is very well served by public transport. It's situated in the heart of the City of London which is also one of the oldest parts of the city. The museum is in Threadneedle Street, though you have to walk around the corner to Bartholomew Lane which is where the main entrance can be found.

The museum is a five minute walk away from the Liverpool Street main line railway station, with Fenchurch Street and Cannon Street train stations also close by. Several bus routes actually stop in Threadneedle Street which include the following bus numbers: 8, 11, 23, 25, 26, 47, 48, 133, 141, 149 and 242. If traveling on the underground via the Tube network, the closest station is Bank which is served by the Central, Northern and Waterloo & City line tube stations, and the overland Docklands Light Railway also stops here.

Opening times and further information

The Museum's opening times are Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, with last entries allowed at 4.45pm. Unfortunately, it is closed at weekends, as well as public and Bank holidays. However, they are open during school holidays whereby they regularly have special events to cater for children. Further information can be found on the Bank of England Museum's website. If you are planning on visiting the museum, ideally allow yourself at least one and a half hour to two hours, especially if you are interested in the bank's past history.

The Bank of England museum offers a fascinating insight into history of banking in England. There are lots of interesting things for children to do, but those younger than about five or six may become a bit bored. Considering it costs nothing to visit, a trip to the Bank of England museum is exceptionally good value and definitely worth a visit.