by Caroline St Clare

Created on: July 19, 2011

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

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