The Failure of Burton's Bank and its Aftermath

Between c.1700 and its failure, in 1733, Burton's bank was run by a series of partnerships – Benjamin Burton and Francis Harrison (1700–1725); Benjamin and Samuel Burton (1725); Benjamin Burton, Samuel Burton and Daniel Falkiner (late 1725); finally Samuel Burton and Daniel Falkiner (1728–33). In 1733, concerns over Samuel's ill health prompted a run on the bank – the catalyst for its failure. After Samuel's death in 1733 responsibility for resolving the bank's difficulties fell to Falkiner. Although he promised to honour its commitments, a petition presented to Parliament by a group of influential creditors led to a parliamentary inquiry. It established the bank's insolvency as well as the partners' financial obligations to the bank. In the years that followed, despite various acts giving the parliamentary-appointed trustees considerable powers, the persistent obduracy of Abraham Creighton, responsible for meeting Harrison's debts, ensured progress in winding-up the bank was slow. Creighton's tactics prompted Robert Roberts, the creditors' agent, to write a book in which he sought to vindicate his actions. After 1757, matters ground to a virtual standstill; the next creditors' meeting was not called until 1778. Once again little was achieved and, in 1817, appeals were made to the Freeman's Journal asking it to use its influence so that the creditors' claims might finally be settled.