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As Safe As The Bank Of England
Locksmith EC2R: The Bank With Soldiers On The Night Shift
For almost two centuries, soldiers marched to the Bank of England every night to guard it, and a windowless wall still surrounds it. Call 020 8534 4949 for a locksmith who treats every door in EC2R as part of that story.
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- Banking Halls & Offices
- Commercial & Residential
- EC2R Coverage
Covering EC2R around Bank junction, from Poultry to Lothbury. Open in Google Maps
Why EC2R Is Different
The Bank built a wall, then posted a guard
EC2R is Bank: the Bank of England, the junction outside it, and the streets around Threadneedle Street, Poultry and Lothbury. The Bank has stood on Threadneedle Street since 1734, and "as safe as the Bank of England" has long been a saying for anything secure.
In June 1780 that reputation was tested. During the Gordon Riots, a mob attacked the Bank three times. Troops were called out, and even so the building held. After that, the Bank bought the neighbouring church of St Christopher le Stocks and demolished it. It also set up a nightly guard.
From then on, thirty soldiers kept watch each night, with two officers. They had their own barracks inside the Bank. The Bank even gave the officers a free meal every evening.
A Windowless Wall That Outlived Its Building
The Bank also turned its back on the street. From 1788, the architect Sir John Soane extended the site to about three and a half acres and enclosed it with a high curtain wall, with no windows. Inside, the rooms were lit from above or from inner courts.
Between 1925 and 1939, Sir Herbert Baker demolished Soane's interior and built a much taller Bank on the same site. The windowless wall was kept, and it still stands. The nightly guard stood down only in 1973, after almost two centuries.
A lock is the small, everyday version of the same idea: a barrier, backed by somebody who checks it. We look after that small version, across every door in EC2R.
Need help fast? Try lockout support for a shut door, a repair booking for a tired lock, or round-the-clock cover when it's late.
What EC2R Residents & Businesses Call About
What tends to go wrong around Bank
Financial & Professional Offices
Access rules are strict at this end of the City. We work within each firm's own procedures, then fit or repair commercial security to match.
Book aheadShops & Restaurants Near The Junction
Doors and shutters here see constant footfall. A quick lock repair stops a jammed shopfront from costing a morning's trade.
Same-day priorityOlder Banking Halls
Victorian and Edwardian entrances often carry heavy doors and old ironmongery. Where a lock is beyond saving, a careful lock replacement preserves the look.
Book aheadInner Doors & Riser Cupboards
While the street door rarely fails, inner doors, store rooms and riser cupboards are more likely to seize. They make up much of our commercial locksmith work here.
Book aheadBroken Or Snapped Keys
Security-grade cylinders grip a snapped key hard. The broken keys page sets out how one comes out safely.
Call nowOdd-Hours Emergencies
Some firms here keep hours set by overseas markets. Our night line covers whatever time a door fails.
Call nowTwo limits, stated plainly: we don't copy keys, and we don't work on a building's fob, badge or intercom systems. Your facilities team or its installer handles those.
Locked Out In EC2R
When the problem is the door behind the front desk
Most EC2R buildings have a staffed front desk, so a lockout here is rarely about the street door. It's usually an inner door, a riser cupboard or your own office suite.
Because of that, we talk to building security or the managing agent first. We check they're happy before we start.
Gentle entry still comes first. A drill is what we reach for last, and rarely.
Key snapped in a suite door, or lost between floors? The broken keys and lost keys pages show how each is handled.
Around EC2R
Neighbours around Bank
The full EC2 overview, from Cheapside to Shoreditch.
Guildhall and Cheapside, just west of Bank.
North of Bank, towards the station.
Immediately south, across the junction.
South-east, down King William Street.
North-east, running up from Cornhill.
What We Do
Services around Bank
Layers, Not One Lock
What the Bank's defences teach about any door
The Bank never relied on a single defence. It had a wall, a guard and locks behind both. Good door security works the same way: several layers, none of them doing all the work.
A strong lock in a weak frame makes a weak door. So we look at the lock, the door itself, the frame and the fixings together, and we say plainly which is the weak link.
Sir John Soane's Museum describes how the guard was housed in its entry on the Bank's barracks. The Bank's own 1963 account of the Picquet tells the story from the inside.
Not sure whether it's the lock or the frame that's failing? Describe what you can see, and we'll say which we suspect.
The Process
Booking a locksmith EC2R callout
- You ringWe take the address, the floor or suite, and what's gone wrong.
- We check with the buildingInside managed buildings, we confirm with the desk or agent first.
- Inspect, then priceThe engineer sees the door, then quotes before starting.
- Handed back workingKey, latch and door are tested before we leave.
Access & Traffic
How we reach you near Bank junction
Bank is one of the City's busiest interchanges, and the junction has been reworked in recent years. However, it also limits the traffic allowed through during the working day. We check the current rules before routing anyone through it.
Underground and DLR links meet here, so travelling by train can beat driving. Loading bays are scarce, and several streets are narrow.
After the working day, the streets empty fast and some front desks go unstaffed. We confirm how we'll get in before the engineer sets off.
Why People Call Us
What Bank-area firms rely on us for
- We check the whole door. Lock, leaf, frame and fixings are looked at together.
- We work within building rules. Managed offices have procedures, and we follow them.
- Heavy hardware gets patience. Old banking-hall ironmongery is repaired first.
- Commercial first, homes too. Commercial and residential jobs get the same care.
- Plain about what we skip. Copying keys and fob systems aren't ours to do.
- Available at any hour. Overseas-hours firms and night-time lockouts alike get a reply.
Nearby
Areas around EC2R
Common Questions
The Bank's Night Guard
Did soldiers really guard the Bank every night?
Yes. From 1780 a detachment of soldiers kept watch there each night, and the practice ended in 1973.
Why was the guard set up?
The Bank was attacked three times during the Gordon Riots of June 1780. The guard was set up in the aftermath.
Where were the soldiers based?
In barracks built inside the Bank itself, closed off from the rest of the building.
The Wall & The Building
Is Soane's windowless wall still there?
Yes. The outer curtain wall survives, though the buildings inside it were rebuilt between 1925 and 1939.
Who rebuilt the Bank in the twentieth century?
Sir Herbert Baker, who replaced Soane's interior with a much taller building on the same site.
How big is the Bank's site?
About three and a half acres, all of it enclosed by that curtain wall.
Booking In EC2R
Do you work in managed office buildings?
Yes. We check with the desk or managing agent first, and we follow the building's own procedures.
Can you help with an inner door rather than the street door?
Yes. Inner doors, store rooms and riser cupboards are common jobs here.
Which streets count as part of EC2R?
Threadneedle Street, Poultry, Lothbury, Princes Street and the rest of the Bank area.
What if the security desk won't let you up?
We don't go in without proper authority. We wait for the building, the tenant or the agent to confirm it.
Do you take late-night calls from firms working overseas hours?
Yes. Our lines stay open at every hour, so a late finish or a night-time fault gets an answer.
Is there a good time to book a non-urgent repair?
Early morning or after six suits most City offices, because the building is quieter then.
The Bank posted a guard. You only need one call.
Whether it's an office suite, a shopfront or a flat near Bank, one call gets the right engineer moving.