Giant coffins and Gas Contamination Rooms: Nine pictures from the Bank of England's photographic vault

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

The rediscovered coffin of giant 18th century bank clerk William Jenkins and a view of VE Day from the roof are among the photos in the Bank of England's four-century collection

Until it was demolished to make way for Sir Herbert Baker’s larger version, Sir John Soane’s Bank of England building – a project he described as “the pride and boast of my life” – covered the whole three-and-a-quarter acres of the current bank site, having been extended in 1828.

Baker’s building, stretching seven storeys above ground and three below, took shape between 1925 and 1939, leaving only a windowless “curtain” wall on Threadneedle Street from Soane’s original.

Soane’s vestibules, Bullion Yard, Court Room suites and courtyards are all part of the photographic collection, which is part of a new exhibition at the bank’s museum including views of a hidden operating theatre.

There’s also the rediscovery, during the rebuilding in 1933, of former clerk William Jenkins, known as the Bank Giant thanks to his height of just over 6ft 7. Directors allowed his body to be buried in the Garden Court to protect it from bodysnatchers following his death in 1798.

More than a century later, large numbers of staff were evacuated to Hampshire’s Hurstbourne Camp during the Second World War, where they harvested crops, took up beekeeping and watched films. At Threadneedle Street, a two-year preparation plans, named Zero, allowed the bank to continue with “minimal disruption”.

The operating theatre, in the Sub-Vault, witnessed surgical operations. The staff also wore gas masks while hiding in the Gas Contamination Room.

VE Day celebrations were viewed from the roof. Scenes also show the Coronations of George V and Queen Mary, George VI and Edward VII, staff packing gold bars and the Victorian printing office.

“We are in the lovely position of holding a photography collection that spans the whole history of the medium, from the earliest salt prints and cyanotypes,” says Anna Spender, the museum’s Curator.

“The Bank of England has enjoyed an enviable vantage point of the city for nearly 300 years...a rarely seen, alternative view of an enthralling period of London history.”

• Capturing the City: Photography at the Bank of England is open now. Share your images of London with the Bank on Twitter using the hashtag #CitySnapsBoE. Each month one image will be chosen to join the exhibition displays and become part of the Bank’s history.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Three places to trace the economy in

Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village, Wiltshire
Help Tudor gentleman Sir William Sharington find his lost golden coins on a self-led family trail around the grounds and cloister of the abbey and discover some fascinating facts about money, coins and history along the way. Until March 26 2016.

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Between the 15th and 18th centuries the riches of new worlds in the Americas, Africa and the Indian Ocean saw Spanish, Portuguese, British and French explorers and adventurers venture to new continents in search of new lands and wealth. Find out about the fundamental changes that occurred in this period of European expansion, which paved the way for the modern global economy, in the exhibition Encounters: Money in the age of Discovery. Until May 29 2016.

British Library of Political and Economic Science, London
The working Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science and one of the largest libraries in the world devoted to the economic and social sciences.

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/historic-buildings/art547613-bank-england-capturing-city-london-surgical