1988 National and Provincial commercial.

The National Provincial Bank was organised as a joint-stock company by Thomas Joplin 1833. At the time, the Bank of England had exclusive statutory power to issue banknotes within a 65 mile radius of London. Although the bank’s administrative offices were in London, it decided to open its branches outside the 65 mile radius so that the bank could issue its own notes. From the beginning National Provincial lived up to its name, serving provincial customers throughout England. The bank was without a national competitor for about 60 years. By 1836 it had over 20 branches across England and Wales.

The first branch of the bank was opened on 01 January 1834 in Gloucester. Like the District Bank, the company planned to establish new branches and acquire smaller banks, and by 1835 it had opened 20 new offices. The bank’s expansion continued throughout the nineteenth century with new branch openings and by taking over smaller local banking companies.

Info taken from Wikipedia