George Newenham & Co. Cork 1800-1825

Banknotes issued by Irish Private Banks ca1700–ca1833
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George Newenham & Co. Cork 1800-1825

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George Newenham first registered his bank in Cork on the 3rd April 1800. His son, also George, and John Lecky became partners shortly afterwards in 1801. The bank finally closed in 1825 but appears to have had an unusual history ceasing operations and restarting on apparently two separate occasions (1816 & 1821). John Lecky is reputed to have been the main driving force in the operations of the bank.

Here are examples of an issued and unissued 1 Guinea note from this bank. An unusual feature is the absence of John Lecky as partner on the note dated 1809.
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George Newenham & Co. Cork 1 Guinea 3rd Sept. 1809.jpg
George Newenham & Co. Cork 1 Guinea 3rd Sept. 1809.jpg (65.39 KiB) Viewed 2272 times
George Newenham & Co. Cork 1 Guinea ca.1800 Unissued.jpg
George Newenham & Co. Cork 1 Guinea ca.1800 Unissued.jpg (128.54 KiB) Viewed 2272 times
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Re: George Newenham & Co. Cork 1800-1825

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Here is a 9 shillings, silver note, issued by George Newenham & Co. in 1803 which was originally posted by callahiljo under the topic ‘Mystery Bank’. This example has John Lecky listed as one of the partners in addition to George Newenham and George Newenham Junr.
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George Newenham & Co Cork 9 Shillings July 1803.JPG
George Newenham & Co Cork 9 Shillings July 1803.JPG (167.58 KiB) Viewed 2156 times
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Re: George Newenham & Co. Cork 1800-1825

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The history of Newenham’s Bank is complex. The Bank is reputed to have ceased operations on three occasions but there is no general agreement on the timeline of these events. O’Kelly proposes that the bank would up its operations in 1816 paying creditors in full. Watson’s Almanac lists the bank for the years 1800-1815 and 1820-1823 but it seems unlikely that the second incarnation of the bank lasted past 1821 as George Newenham died in October 1821.

It is remarkable that George Newenham Jnr recommenced the operations of the Bank in 1824, only for it to close again in 1825 with heavy losses.

No notes dated later than 1809 are known which suggests a small issue for this bank in its later years. Here is a partial proof for 6 shillings originally posted under the ‘Mystery Bank’ string. Although the partners are not mentioned, it is reasonable to conclude that this is a note of Newenham’s Bank, given the similarity in design to the Newenham’s 9 shillings silver note.
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George Newenham & Co. Partial Proof 6 Shillings ca.1800.jpg
George Newenham & Co. Partial Proof 6 Shillings ca.1800.jpg (36.93 KiB) Viewed 2044 times
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