The Renfrewshire Banking Company is the social name of the banking firm of William Napier & Co. and was established at Greenock in 1802. The original Partners were as follows.
Archibald Speirs of Elderslie,
Boyd Alexander of Southbar,
John Cunningham, Merchant, Port Glasgow,
Alexander Dunlop, Merchant, Greenock,
John Hamilton, Merchant, Greenock,
James Patten, Banker, Greenock,
William Napier of Blackston,
Charles Stirling of Kenmure, and
Peter Speirs of Culcreuch.
The above were the Partners until 1809 when the first contract of co-partnery expired and Archibald Speirs and John Hamilton retired. The remaining seven Partners continued in business. In 1813 the number of partners was reduced to six as a consequence of the death of John Cunningham.
In 1820 Roger Aytoun was admitted as a Partner.
In 1825 Boyd Alexander died and in 1829 both Charles Stirling and Peter Speirs retired.
James Patten also retired (1833) as did Alexander Dunlop (1840) which left only William Napier and Roger Aytoun who was by then the Cashier.
The Bank’s agent in Edinburgh was the Royal Bank of Scotland and Munn (in "The Scottish Provincial Banking Companies 1747 – 1864") suggests that the Royal Bank of Scotland contributed to the failure of the Renfrewshire Banking Company. In 1839 the Royal Bank of Scotland frequently complained that the note exchanges were running against them (the Royal Bank of Scotland were paying our more than the Renfrewshire Banking Company was delivering up by way of Royal Bank of Scotland notes) with the consequence being that the Renfrewshire Banking Company’s debt with Royal Bank of Scotland was increasing. The Renfrewshire Banking Company advised the Royal Bank of Scotland that they were endeavouring to restrict advances although the demand for credit to fit out ships for the Irish grain trade was such that the position continued into 1840. By this time the debt hand increased to near £39,000 although this was largely covered by securities provided by the Partners. 1842 saw a commercial crisis which resulted in the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Greenock office record losses and the account with the Renfrewshire Banking Company deteriorate further. In March 1842 the Royal Bank of Scotland ordered operations on the account to case and one week later the Renfrewshire Banking Company closed its doors.
The Bank was sequestrated on 1st April 1842 with the Trustee appointed being John Ker, Merchant, Greenock. The liabilities amounted to £226,545 and a dividend of 9/3 in the pound was paid to creditors. Some note holders were however paid in full by certain retired Partners if they held notes dated prior to 1840.
Banknotes were issued as follows.
1802 - One Guinea.
1821 - One Guinea, engraved by Kirkwood & Son.
1830 - One Pound, engraved by Perkins & Heath.
1830 - Five Pounds, engraved by Kirkwood & Son.
This image was obtained from an auction catalogue and is an example of the 1830 "One Pound" note engraved by Perkins & Heath. It is dated 1st June 1832 and signed by Roger Aytoun and James Patten.
The first cashier of the Bank was James Patten. Roger Aytoun was appointed as Joint Cashier sometime after his assumption as a Partner in 1820 he obtained the position as sole Cashier upon James Patten’s retirement in 1833, remaining in this post until the Bank’s sequestration some two years later. Roger Aytoun is said to have served in the Army and is known to have ben both a local Writer and a Freemason.
Branches.
Greenock. This was the main office of the Bank. The first office of the bank in Greenock was in the low flat in a house on Hamilton Street and was opposite Tan Works Close. In 1811 the Head Office moved to a house which was built in Shaw Place.
Glasgow. The first Glasgow office opened in 1803 under the Agency of Messrs. Logan and Kennedy. Walter Logan and Gilbert Kennedy were wine merchants and the banking agency operated from an office in Buchanan Street. In 1805 Logan and Kennedy were replaced as Agent by Hugh Hamilton at which time the business moved to 132 Trongate. The business subsequently moved to Brunswick Place and finally to 94 Miller Street where it remained until the close.
Campbelltown. I can find no details regarding this office although I note that in 1827 Mr. Beith, the then Manager of the Renfrewshire Banking Company’s office in Campbeltown, was thought to be considering fighting a dual and the Procurator Fiscal wrote to John McAlester (the “opponent”) warning him off and saying
"My opinion is that you should settle the matter. Mr. Beith is a little stiff and short in the temper but there is a great deal of sterling honesty about him and altho he should be at times a little crabit when unreasonably or hard pressed, I think under all the circumstances and his connection with your brother's affairs you should have had a little more patience about him I think you should make an apology to quash the matter. I believe you to be decidedly wrong. It is more manly in my opinion for you to admit your error than fight a duel".
Inverary. In “Banking in Glasgow in the Olden Time” there is a reference to there having been a branch of the Bank in Inverary with this endorsed by Munn in “The Scottish Provincial Banking Companies”. I also note that in “A Practical Treatise on Banking” (Graham) the Bank’s Agent in Inverary is the writer of a detailed letter to Roger Aytoun on the subject of the introduction of metallic current to replace the smaller Scottish notes.
Rothesay. In “Banking in Glasgow in the Olden Time” there is a reference to there having been a branch of the Bank in Rothesay with this endorsed by Munn in “The Scottish Provincial Banking Companies”.
Officials.
The following officials have been identified from letters in the collection. Where possible notes have been added.
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