
Building the Bank of England
Money, Architecture, Society 1694-1942
Daniel M. Abramson(Author)
Yale University Press
Published on 10. November 2005
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-300-10924-5 (ISBN)
Description
The Bank of England symbolizes the economic strength, influence, and potency of Britain. Founded in 1694, its world-famous buildings were built and rebuilt four times by different architects, most notably Sir John Soane. The Bank's three-and-aquarter-acre complex has included elegant public banking halls and private offices, courtyards and gardens, warehouses and vaults, residential apartments and guards' barracks. This lavishly illustrated book examines for the first time the entire architectural history of the Bank from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries.
Drawing on a variety of perspectives, the book relates the history of the Bank of England to current debates on English economic, social, and urban history, including issues of national identity, mercantile politics, and the commercialization of culture. The book also shows how the building itself has expressed various historical tensions among the Bank's inhabitants and publics: its directors and detractors, its clerks and clientele, its tourists, and even its mob attackers.
Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Drawing on a variety of perspectives, the book relates the history of the Bank of England to current debates on English economic, social, and urban history, including issues of national identity, mercantile politics, and the commercialization of culture. The book also shows how the building itself has expressed various historical tensions among the Bank's inhabitants and publics: its directors and detractors, its clerks and clientele, its tourists, and even its mob attackers.
Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Reviews / Votes
"A major undertaking . . . this volume will stand as a standard in the study of architecture for some time to come."-Art Times * Art Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
180 b-w + 77 color illus.
Dimensions
Height: 305 mm
Width: 254 mm
Weight
1973 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-10924-5 (9780300109245)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Daniel M. Abramson is associate professor of architectural history and director of architectural studies at Tufts University.