Hanley
Economic Building Society Company Information
About
The Hanley Economic Building Society Company
The
Society began life in 1854. The brainchild of the Right Hon. The
Earl Granville who at that time was Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, as well as the Principal of the Iron and Steel works, in
Shelton Stoke-on-Trent.
Known
as The Staffordshire Potteries Economic Permanent Benefit Building
Society, the name was onerous but its aims were quite simple: to
foster thrift among the employees of the company, and the inhabitants
of the district.
Minute books and annual reports preserved since those pioneering
days detail the successful progress of this great Potteries enterprise.
The
Society's first annual report, after referring to a year of great
commercial depression and embarrassment, recorded that 142 3/4 shares
had been subscribed for and that assets stood at £629. By
1859, the Society reported flourishing business with assets of £1,136
and by the 25th year in 1879, these had grown to £4,725. By
the turn of the century, membership topped 400 with assets well
over £20,000. A far cry from today's current figure of over
£257 million (31/08/02), but already creating a strong influence.
The original banking hall Cheapside
With the growth of industry in the early part of this century, allied
to an increasing appreciation of its service, the Society began
to attract people from a wider area. As business broadened, its
name was shortened to the Hanley Economic Building Society in 1930.
Five
years later the society took over premises at Cheapside in Hanley,
which remained the headquarters until moving to the purpose built
premises on Festival Park in 1992.
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