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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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National Westminster Bank
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(NatWest) Formed in 1970 by the merger of the National Provincial and the Westminster. Both the merged companies brought with them a large slice of British banking history. The National Provincial was formed in 1833 with the specific purpose of creating a network of offices throughout England and Wales (Gloucester was the first to open, in 1834); in 1920 the National Provincial acquired *Coutts; and in 1962 it absorbed the District Bank, established in Manchester in 1829.
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The London and Westminster Bank was set up in 1833; it merged in 1918 with Parr's Bank, dating back to a private banking partnership in the 18C in Cheshire. The National Westminster branch in London's Bishopsgate is a distinguished Victorian building (1864–5) by John Gibson; behind it there now soars one of the City's landmarks, the 183m/600ft National Westminster Tower by Seifert and Partners.
In 1999 the National Westminster was taken over by a smaller rival, the Royal Bank of Scotland.
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