C. Hoare & Co
Encyclopedia
C. Hoare & Co. is England's oldest privately owned banking house
. Founded in 1672 by Sir Richard Hoare
, C. Hoare & Co. remains family owned and is currently managed by the 11th generation of Hoare's direct descendants.
The bank provides private banking, financial planning and investment management services that include loans, mortgages, savings accounts and investment advisory services as well as tax and estate planning services. The bank's clients typically are high-net-worth individuals and families.
C. Hoare and Co. has two branches, located at 37 Fleet Street
and 32 Lowndes Street in London.
, the founder of the bank, began his working life apprenticed to a goldsmith.Victoria Hutchings, Messrs Hoare, Bankers: A History of the Hoare Banking Dynasty (2005). p 10-11, 15 He was granted the Freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company on 5 July 1672. This date marks the foundation of Hoare's Bank as it was around then that Richard Hoare established his goldsmith's business at the sign of the Golden Bottle in Cheapside
, London
.
In 1690 Richard Hoare moved the business to new premises in Fleet Street
, on the main thoroughfare halfway between the City of Westminster
and the City of London
, but still within the City of London. He continued trading at the sign of the Golden Bottle (a gilded leather bottle that hung outside the shop): street numbering was unknown in those days and signs were used to distinguish one business from another.
Goldsmiths had secure premises and had always been the storehouses for cash and valuables so they were in a unique position to evolve a system of banking: in 1677 some 58 goldsmiths kept 'running cashes'. They also started to lend their customers' money for interest.
Famous customers of the 17th century:
Catherine of Braganza
(wife of Charles II
)
Samuel Pepys
(diarist)
John Dryden
(poet)
Sir Godfrey Kneller
(painter)
Richard Beau Nash
During the 18th century the bank prospered. Richard Hoare was knighted by Queen Anne
in 1702 and became Lord Mayor of London
in 1712. After Richard's death, two of his sons (Henry
, known as "Henry The Good", and Benjamin) continued the business but it was Richard's grandson, Henry Hoare
, who dominated the family through his wealth and personal charisma. Henry was a partner for nearly 60 years: his nickname, "Henry The Magnificent", derived in part from his influence as a great patron of the Arts, but more particularly because he laid out the gardens at Stourhead
in Wiltshire
, an estate bought by his father. The gardens were admired as a showplace and, although there was no record of him carrying out work there, Capability Brown, the renowned landscape gardener, was familiar with the garden. Messrs. Hoare gradually introduced all aspects of banking and, in particular, printed cheques were issued.
Famous customers of the 18th century:
Lord North (Prime Minister)
David Garrick
(actor)
Eton College
and Peter Richard was High Church
. Owing to their differences they took it in turns to run the bank, each being in charge for a six month period. Their sons, who became partners, rebelled against their deeply religious upbringing and also proved to be financially unreliable so placing the future of the bank in peril.
Famous customers of the 19th century:
Lord Byron (poet)
Jane Austen
(author)
most of the remaining private banks were absorbed by the larger banks. Hoares took a decision not to merge and today is the sole survivor as an independent bank. The bank was a partnership until 1929, when the partners adopted its current structure, forming themselves into a private unlimited liability company in which they were the sole shareholders.
Today the bank has approximately £4.8 billion in assets and remains under the ownership of the Hoare family. Alexander S. Hoare, the former CEO of the Bank, represents the 11th generation to manage C. Hoare & Co. He has been replaced by the first non-family member in an executive position; former head of Credit Suisse Private Bank Jeremy Marshall.
Private bank
Private banks are banks that are not incorporated. A private bank is owned by either an individual or a general partner with limited partner...
. Founded in 1672 by Sir Richard Hoare
Richard Hoare
Sir Richard Hoare was the founder of C. Hoare & Co, one of the United Kingdom's oldest private banks.-Career:Having been raised near Smithfield Market in London, Richard Hoare began his working life apprenticed to a goldsmith. He was granted the Freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company on 5 July 1672....
, C. Hoare & Co. remains family owned and is currently managed by the 11th generation of Hoare's direct descendants.
The bank provides private banking, financial planning and investment management services that include loans, mortgages, savings accounts and investment advisory services as well as tax and estate planning services. The bank's clients typically are high-net-worth individuals and families.
C. Hoare and Co. has two branches, located at 37 Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
and 32 Lowndes Street in London.
17th Century
Richard HoareRichard Hoare
Sir Richard Hoare was the founder of C. Hoare & Co, one of the United Kingdom's oldest private banks.-Career:Having been raised near Smithfield Market in London, Richard Hoare began his working life apprenticed to a goldsmith. He was granted the Freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company on 5 July 1672....
, the founder of the bank, began his working life apprenticed to a goldsmith.Victoria Hutchings, Messrs Hoare, Bankers: A History of the Hoare Banking Dynasty (2005). p 10-11, 15 He was granted the Freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company on 5 July 1672. This date marks the foundation of Hoare's Bank as it was around then that Richard Hoare established his goldsmith's business at the sign of the Golden Bottle in Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In 1690 Richard Hoare moved the business to new premises in Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, on the main thoroughfare halfway between the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
and the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, but still within the City of London. He continued trading at the sign of the Golden Bottle (a gilded leather bottle that hung outside the shop): street numbering was unknown in those days and signs were used to distinguish one business from another.
Goldsmiths had secure premises and had always been the storehouses for cash and valuables so they were in a unique position to evolve a system of banking: in 1677 some 58 goldsmiths kept 'running cashes'. They also started to lend their customers' money for interest.
Famous customers of the 17th century:
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662...
(wife of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
)
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
(diarist)
John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
(poet)
Sir Godfrey Kneller
Godfrey Kneller
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to British monarchs from Charles II to George I...
(painter)
Richard Beau Nash
Beau Nash
Beau Nash , born Richard Nash, was a celebrated dandy and leader of fashion in 18th-century Britain. He is best remembered as the Master of Ceremonies at the spa town of Bath.- Biography :...
18th Century
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
in 1702 and became Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
in 1712. After Richard's death, two of his sons (Henry
Henry Hoare (banker)
Henry Hoare I , known as Henry the Good, was an English banker and landowner.-Career:Born the son of Sir Richard Hoare, founder of C. Hoare & Co bankers, Henry the Good became a Partner in the bank in August 1702. Together with his father, he became a commissioner for the building of 50 new...
, known as "Henry The Good", and Benjamin) continued the business but it was Richard's grandson, Henry Hoare
Henry Hoare
Henry Hoare II , known as Henry the Magnificent, was an English banker and garden owner-designer.-Career:Born the son of Henry Hoare I and educated at Westminster School, Henry Hoare dominated the Hoare family through his wealth and personal charisma. Henry was a partner for nearly 60 years in C...
, who dominated the family through his wealth and personal charisma. Henry was a partner for nearly 60 years: his nickname, "Henry The Magnificent", derived in part from his influence as a great patron of the Arts, but more particularly because he laid out the gardens at Stourhead
Stourhead
Stourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, an estate bought by his father. The gardens were admired as a showplace and, although there was no record of him carrying out work there, Capability Brown, the renowned landscape gardener, was familiar with the garden. Messrs. Hoare gradually introduced all aspects of banking and, in particular, printed cheques were issued.
Famous customers of the 18th century:
Lord North (Prime Minister)
David Garrick
David Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
(actor)
Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
19th Century
In 1829 the premises at Fleet Street were rebuilt; the new banking house was designed to accommodate the business and a private house. Following the Bank Charter Act 1833 many of the 4,000 or so private banks disappeared. In the first half of the century Hoares maintained a steady business latterly under the leadership of Charles Hoare (died 1851), the last senior partner to enjoy the practice of having the name of the bank styled after him. In the second half the partners running the bank almost brought it down with unsuccessful speculation and poor management. During the middle of the century there were two partners (Henry of Staplehurst and Peter Richard of Luscome). Both were deeply religious men but with differing views. Henry was Low ChurchLow church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
and Peter Richard was High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
. Owing to their differences they took it in turns to run the bank, each being in charge for a six month period. Their sons, who became partners, rebelled against their deeply religious upbringing and also proved to be financially unreliable so placing the future of the bank in peril.
Famous customers of the 19th century:
Lord Byron (poet)
Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
(author)
20th Century
A revival of fortunes for the bank took place in the 20th century with the early years seeing the credibility of the bank restored. After World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
most of the remaining private banks were absorbed by the larger banks. Hoares took a decision not to merge and today is the sole survivor as an independent bank. The bank was a partnership until 1929, when the partners adopted its current structure, forming themselves into a private unlimited liability company in which they were the sole shareholders.
Today the bank has approximately £4.8 billion in assets and remains under the ownership of the Hoare family. Alexander S. Hoare, the former CEO of the Bank, represents the 11th generation to manage C. Hoare & Co. He has been replaced by the first non-family member in an executive position; former head of Credit Suisse Private Bank Jeremy Marshall.
Trivia
- "My bankers are Hoares" is one of Jack Aubrey's favourite puns in several of the books from the series by Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
.