Old Lady of Thread needle Street

The popular name of the Bank of England. There is a tradition that towards the end of the eighteenth century a demented old lady wandered up and down Thread needle Street day by day for a long period until she suddenly disappeared. It was generally a umed that this old lady of Thread needle Street must have been waiting for someone who had pa ed into the Bank, and, according to her idea, never came out again. When, therefore, in 1797 the Bank threatened a temporary stoppage of payment, and one-pound notes were i ued, John Gilray, the artist, published a caricature entitled “The Old Lady of Thread needle Street in Danger.” Since that time the Bank has been colloquially referred to by this title.