Which London banking firm’s failure helped trigger the Panic of 1825?

The failure of Pole, Thornton and Co. helped trigger the Panic of 1825 in London.

Pole, Thornton and Co. was a major London banking house connected with the Bank of England. Its failure in December 1825 intensified a financial crisis that had begun with speculative investment and a sudden contraction of credit. The panic spread through banks and businesses, producing numerous failures across Britain.

The boom had included heavy investment in Latin American mining companies and government bonds, as well as domestic ventures. When confidence turned, investors demanded cash, while banks faced pressure to redeem notes and deposits. The Bank of England responded by lending more freely and releasing old one-pound notes from its reserves.

The crisis is often remembered because a few surviving notes from the 1770s were reportedly found in the Bank’s vaults and circulated to ease the shortage of currency. The episode helped shape later thinking about central-bank support during panics.