This former Victorian bank has been transformed into a discreet, boutique-style hotel, less than a mile from Tower Bridge and The Shard. The hotel exudes grandeur in a thoroughly modern way amid the bustle of the Square Mile, crowned by an elegant stained-glass dome - an unexpected find in the City's heart. Inside his haven, you can dine at Threadneedles Restaurant and enjoy afternoon tea in the iconic dome lounge.
Threadneedles Hotel was formerly head offices of the London, City and Midland Bank headquarters from the 1880s. The original building, designed by W & A Moseley was built in 1856 and was transformed into Threadneedles Hotel in 2002, and sensitively adapted into a striking lobby, bar and restaurant on the ground floor and a hotel with 74 bedrooms. The 130,000 sq. ft. listed building is just minutes away from the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange; it is the City's oldest surviving premises for a joint-stock bank.
History of the Bank: The Birmingham & Midland Bank took over the London-based Central Bank in 1891, renaming itself the London & Midland Bank, and then acquired the City Bank in 1898. It was then renamed the London, City & Midland Bank, a title which lasted until 1918. The former Threadneedle St head office of The City Bank, which became London, City & Midland Bank from the 1880s, expanded its customer base by opening new branches and acquiring other banks. In 1891 it acquired the Central Bank of London (which gave Midland a seat in the London Clearing House) and, in 1898, it bought the City Bank (which provided a London head office).
The history of the name 'Threadneedles': The first recorded mention of the street was in 1598 when it was called 'Three Needles'. The name is most likely to have come from the sign of a needle workshop (as shops were identified not by numbers but by symbols) and from the Merchant Tailor's coat of arms at the Guildhall which was three needles. The name was referenced again in 1666 and 1677 when it had changed to 'Threed Needles' and through time became 'Threadneedle Street'.
