British Linen Bank

The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in Britain. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the establishment's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999.

The Edinburgh-based British Linen was "the only British bank to be formed on the basis of an industrial charter" and, as the name suggests, its roots lay in the Scottish linen industry. The original driving force behind the formation of the British Linen Company (as it was first named) was Andrew Fletcher, Lord Milton. He was a lawyer landowner, had been active in the promotion of The Royal Bank of Scotland and, according to Checkland, "from 1735 to 1766 he was the most important man in the politics of Scotland." He had helped establish the Board of Trustees for Fisheries and Manufactures in Scotland and was the chairman of the board's Linen Committee. In 1727 he had been instrumental in the formation of the Edinburgh Linen Co-Partnery and in the early 1740s Milton wanted to expand it, make it national and capable of marketing in England.

The men who were to see this concept to fruition were "two young and enterprising Edinburgh linen manufacturers", Ebenezer McCulloch and William Tod. They became the managers of the new enterprise (and substantial shareholders), Milton himself later becoming deputy manager. Their scheme was for "a company on a much bigger scale than hitherto seen in Scotland" and at the height of its operations in the 1750s "it was probably not just the largest single firm in the Scottish linen industry but in the Scottish economy as a whole". It handled every stage in the manufacture of linen cloth and employed thousands of spinners and weavers.

In 1745 a prospectus was duly issued for "The Company for Improving the Linen Manufactury in Scotland". However, the lack of limited liability proved an obstacle to fundraising, and the alternative route of a Royal Charter was sought. Progress of the petition was slow due to the Jacobite rebellion and it made no mention of Scotland: “the Scots were looked on with open suspicion as open supporters of the exiled House of Stewart.” The Charter was eventually granted in 1746 in the name of the British Linen Company.

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