Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Cobb and Son, Bankers of Margate c.1785 to c.1840

Lampard, K. J (1986) Cobb and Son, Bankers of Margate c.1785 to c.1840. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86254) (KAR id:86254)

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to give an account of the development of the Margate Bank of Cobb & Son in the years up to 1840, setting it within the context of the Cobb family's other business interests, and national and local economic developments. Wherever possible, the practices and experiences of the Margate Bank have been compared with those of other banks. Chapter 1 commences with general introductory material, describing, in general terms, the economic development of Margate and the Isle of Thanet during the period, and setting out basic biographical details of the Cobb family. It continues by showing how the bank emerged from the Cobbs other activities, and attempts to analyse the position of the Margate Bank in relation to the Margate Brewery and Cobb & Son's shipping agency. Chapter 2 outlines changes in the level of the note issue, interest bearing deposits and deposits without interest, and seeks to analyse the reasons for the decline of the note issue and deposits with interest in the years following the Napoleonic Wars, and the growth of deposits without interest. The second part of this chapter gives an occupational breakdown of the Margate Bank's depositors, supplemented by material relating to banks at Ramsgate and Deal. The third part of the chapter examines the impact of economic fluctuations on the Margate Bank and seeks to explain its changes in fortune. The following three chapters deal with Cobbs and the London money market Chapter 3 begins with a digression and looks at the growth of Cobbs' London agent, Sir James Esdaile & Co., and looks at the reasons for its collapse in 1837, and rescue by the Bank of England and leading London bankers. The rest of the chapter analyses the role of the London agent as a channel of remittance, a reserve, a source of advice and control, and as an outlet for investments. Chapters 4 and 5 look at Cobb & Son's links with the London discount market and the stock exchange respectively, and seek to explain why bills of exchange were such a popular investment among bankers, and why some bankers saw Government securities as speculative and only suitable for short-term investments. Chapters 6 to 9 explore Cobb & Son's advances and discounts in the country. Chapter 6 is a general introduction, looking at the different securities for advances, the length of loans, and the occupations of borrowers. It continues by looking at some important examples of local borrowers before three principal groups of borrowers, agriculturalists, millers and agricultural middlemen, and those in the transport sector, are examined in more detail in the following three chapters.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
DOI/Identification number: 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86254
Additional information: This thesis has been digitised by EThOS, the British Library digitisation service, for purposes of preservation and dissemination. It was uploaded to KAR on 09 February 2021 in order to hold its content and record within University of Kent systems. It is available Open Access using a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) licence so that the thesis and its author, can benefit from opportunities for increased readership and citation. This was done in line with University of Kent policies (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/strategy/docs/Kent%20Open%20Access%20policy.pdf). If you feel that your rights are compromised by open access to this thesis, or if you would like more information about its availability, please contact us at ResearchSupport@kent.ac.uk and we will seriously consider your claim under the terms of our Take-Down Policy (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/regulations/library/kar-take-down-policy.html).
Uncontrolled keywords: Banking firm history
Subjects: A General Works > AZ History of Scholarship. The Humanities
C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CB History of civilization
D History General and Old World > D History (General)
L Education > LA History of education
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of History
SWORD Depositor: SWORD Copy
Depositing User: SWORD Copy
Date Deposited: 29 Oct 2019 16:38 UTC
Last Modified: 14 Feb 2022 11:20 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/86254 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.