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| £50 pounds Bank of England note |
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| 50 Pounds banknote |
British notes 50 Pounds banknote 1994 Bank of England
British banknotes, British paper money, British bank notes, Great Britain banknotes, Great Britain paper money, Great Britain bank notesObverse: Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
Reverse: Portrait of Sir John Houblon (13 March 1632 – 10 January 1712) , the first Governor of the Bank of England from 1694 to 1697 and the old-style £50 note was issued during the same year (1994) as the Bank of England celebrated its 300th anniversary. The design also includes an image of the Bank Gatekeeper and Houblon's house in Threadneedle Street, the site of the present Bank of England building.
Watermark: Image of the Queen's portrait.
The Historical series are so called because they feature a famous historical character and appropriate scenes on the reverse. The £5 was first issued on 7th June 1990, and the £20 on 5th June 1991. They remain the current notes in circulation today (1999). The £10 was first issued on 29th April 1992, and the £50 on 20th April 1994. The £50 note incorporates an additional security device in the form of a foil Tudor rose and medallion.
In preparation for the "E Series" of notes, issued by the Bank of England, photographs of The Queen were especially commissioned by the Bank. The photographs were taken by Don Ford in 1985-1986, one of the Bank’s technical photographers, under the direction of Roger Withington. Mr. Withington designed the notes of the "E Series" and prepared the engraving of the Queen, which appeared on this series of notes, from one of the photographs taken by Mr. Ford. The portrait shows Queen Elizabeth wearing Queen Mary’s "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" Tiara, Queen Alexandra’s cluster earrings and, although difficult to identify, Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace.
5 Pounds George Stephenson 10 Pounds Charles Dickens
20 Pounds Michael Faraday 50 Pounds Sir John Houblon
20 Pounds Michael Faraday 50 Pounds Sir John Houblon
The new series of notes. The £20 was first issued on 1st January 1999, and the £10 on 7th November 2000. The £10 note is the first to have the metallic security thread 'windowed' on the reverse rather than the front of the note.
Sir John Houblon
Sir John Houblon (13 March 1632 – 10 January 1712) was the first Governor of the Bank of England from 1694 to 1697.
John Houblon was the third son of James Houblon, a London merchant, and his wife, Mary Du Quesne, daughter of Jean Du Quesne, the younger. He became Sheriff of the City of London in 1689, an Alderman from 1689 to 1712, and Master of the Grocer's Company from 1690 to 1691. He was Lord Mayor in 1695.
He was a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty from 1694 to 1699. It was during this time, from 1694 until 1697, that he served as inaugural governor of the Bank of England. He was again a Bank of England director from 1700, and a director of the New East India Company from 1700 to 1701.
He stood as a Parliamentary candidate for the City of London in 1701, but was defeated. Some sources state incorrectly that he was Member of Parliament for Bodmin.
His younger brother, Abraham, was also Bank of England Governor, from 1703 to 1705. A daughter of Abraham Houblon, Anne, was married to Henry Temple, later Viscount Palmerston, in 1703. His older brother, James, an influential merchant and Member of Parliament for the City of London, was also a director of the Bank of England.
Houblon's house in Threadneedle Street
In December 1694 the Bank, originally occupying Mercers’ Hall, paid £5,500 for an eleven year lease on Grocers’ Hall where it eventually remained until 1733. On the failure to negotiate a renewal of the lease it was agreed to “build a new public office upon the Bank’s estate in Threadneedle Street”; the original site of Sir John Houblon’s house and gardens.
After the death of Lady Houblon in 1732 the site was to become the basis for Sampson to begin the development of the present Bank of England building in Threadneedle Street. Subsequently, the church of St Christpher-le-Stocks and the graveyard were to disappear beneath the ever-increasing requirements of the Bank.