Adapted from a feature that first appeared in August 2025 on Londonist: Time Machine, our much-praised history newsletter. To be the first to read new history features like this, sign up for free here.
One does not simply walk into the Bank of England.
This titanic treasury is built like a fortress. It stands guard over more than £200 billion worth of gold — enough to run the entire NHS for more than a year. The Bank has other secrets to protect. It oversees payment systems, monitors financial stability, decides interest rates and guards any number of fiscal sensitivities. Its inner sanctums are very much not all over TikTok.
Happily, I’ve been invited in. The Bank’s museum is currently running an exhibition about the building’s architecture, and the curator Jenni Adam is keen to show off the real thing. Even with her generous welcome, I still have to satisfy three different gatekeepers, an ID check and a bag search before I’m allowed past the security gate-line.
I’m in for a treat. The building’s innards are rarely seen by the public. They are an essay in magnificence and embellished solidity — not dissimilar to Gringotts from Harry Potter, though without the ludicrous mine-car ride.
