What is the nickname of the Bank of England?

The Bank of England’s nickname is “The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.” The name refers both to the institution’s long history and to its home in London’s Threadneedle Street, where the Bank has been based since 1734.

The nickname became famous through a 1797 caricature by James Gillray, titled “Political Ravishment, or The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street in Danger.” The elderly woman represented the Bank, while Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger appeared to be courting her but was really seeking access to the Bank’s gold reserves.

The cartoon reflected tensions created when the government pressured the Bank for funds during the wars with Revolutionary France. The Bank suspended the convertibility of its notes into gold in 1797, beginning the period known as the Restriction.

The nickname does not mean the Bank was founded on Threadneedle Street or that it is a commercial retail bank. Founded in 1694, it became the United Kingdom’s central bank and was nationalised in 1946. Today, “the Old Lady” remains a familiar shorthand for the Bank of England.