Savings banks and savings behaviour in 19th-century England

"Savings banks' records have the potential to provide new insights into the distribution of money and control over money within working class households. Data collected on the identity of depositors - their occupation and marital status - has suggested that a substantial proportion of accounts in some banks were opened by women, including married women, in the period prior to the Married Women's Property Act. (Perriton 2012, Maltby 2011). It has also revealed a number of account ‘types’ in use, which suggest that working-class savers opened and maintained accounts for reasons other than long-term thrift and prudence. The paper analyses the results of a study of a number of English banks in different locations (London, Bury and South Shields) and considers the implications for an understanding of the earning and disposition of money by single and married men and women. The differences in behaviour so far revealed may be related to regional differences in industry, in social expectations or in the operation of the banks concerned: the paper discusses these possibilities and suggests directions for further research in order to gain a fuller understanding of savings behaviour in the 19th century. "