Newcastle upon Tyne Savings Bank

The bank was established by civic leaders in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1818.^[1] Its early meetings were held in the mayor's chamber in the Guildhall on the Quayside but, in 1832, meetings moved to the former offices of the Tyne Bank in the Royal Arcade close to the north end of the Tyne Bridge.^[2][3][a]

The offices were badly damaged in a fire in 1838. The fire was arson, intended to hide the evidence of the murder of a clerk, Joseph Millie, by the company actuary, Archibald Bolam. Bolam was later tried, convicted and sentenced to be transported to Tasmania.^[5][6][7]

Following a major expansion of the bank's activities in the mid-19th century, the directors decided to establish a more substantial head office. The site they selected was on the corner of Westgate Road and Grainger Street. The new building was designed by John Edward Watson in the renaissance revival style, built in ashlar stone and completed in 1863.^[8][b] By 1918, the bank had four head offices (in major towns) and six branch offices (in smaller towns).^[11]

The bank amalgamated with the Berwick and Tweedmouth Savings Bank in 1927^[12] and with the South Shields Savings Bank to create the Northumberland and Durham Trustee Savings Bank in 1971.^[1] In 1973, the Page Committee report recommended that the trustee savings banks should be reorganised into regional banks.^[13] Following the Trustee Savings Bank Act 1976 (c. 4), the Newcastle upon Savings Bank merged with several other savings banks to form TSB North East.^[14]