Jemmy Wood

James (Jemmy) Wood (7 October 1756 – 20 April 1836) was the owner of the Gloucester Old Bank who became nationally known as "The Gloucester Miser". His wealth of around £900,000 was stated at the time to have made him "the richest commoner in His Majesty's dominions".

Wood was born on 7 October 1756 in Westgate Street, Gloucester and baptised at St Michael's Church on 19 October 1756. He was the third child and only son of Richard and Elizabeth Wood and he attended either Sir Thomas Rich's School or The King's School.

Wood inherited the bank from his grandfather who had founded it in 1716. The bank was said to have been one of the oldest private banks in Britain, having survived the financial consequences of the Napoleonic Wars when many other banks went out of business. It operated from Wood's drapery shop in Westgate Street, Gloucester and Wood's practice was to offer no interest on deposits of less than one year. The whole bank was believed to have consisted of just Wood and two clerks. On the counter were nailed counterfeit coins as a warning to customers not to try and pass them off on the bank. The bank was taken over by the County of Gloucestershire Banking Company in 1838, which eventually became part of Lloyds Bank in 1897.

Wood also owned an undertaking business and extensive land in and around the City of Gloucester.

There are numerous stories of Wood's miserliness, but it is unclear how many are true.

Supposedly, he visited Gloucester Docks to fill his pockets with small pieces of coal that fell off the boats being unloaded there, and wore the same old clothes for years on end. It is also said that on a journey to London, a fellow traveller made fun of Wood's ragged clothing but Wood bet him £5 that he could withdraw £100,000 from the bank on his arrival in the city. The fellow passenger did not believe him but when Wood was able to show that he could do just that, his travelling companion was forced to hand over the £5.

Wood was renowned for walking everywhere rather than paying the cost of a carriage. One story records that once he travelled back to Gloucester from Tewkesbury in the back of a passing hearse, laid out in the space usually reserved for the deceased. His miserliness and wealth brought him national fame with Toby Jugs and a Staffordshire figure being created based on him. His profile of protruding chin and nose, and sloping forehead, made him prime fodder for caricaturists.

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