The Banker’s Holiday

It may surprise you to learn that other than Mexico, the UK has fewer public holidays than anywhere else in the world.

Which got me thinking – where did the August Bank Holiday come from?

It is all thanks to Liberal politician, banker, mathematician, archaeologist and scientist, Sir John Lubbock.

Education
Born 30 April 1834, Lubbock left Eton at 14 years old to join his father’s bank, Lubbock Forster & Co. He soon proved his worth, and was made a partner at just 22 years old.

​Reading Lubbock’s life story is a bit like reading a catalogue of outstanding accomplishments achieved by the greatest of the greats. There was very little he couldn’t or didn’t do, usually for the benefit of others.

MP for Maidstone in 1870, he promoted the study of science in schools, and believed strongly that education would ultimately improve the lives of the working classes. He made school compulsory under the Education Act 1880, whereby all children aged 5-10 years had to go to school.

Evolution
Darwin was amongst his greatest friends, and we have Lubbock to thank for the words ‘Palaeolithic’ and ‘Neolithic’ to describe the Old Stone Age and New Stone Age era.

Lubbock also took an active interest in reducing the national debt, bringing in shorter working hours for the working classes, and the protection of ancient monuments. He even bought Avebury to protect it from developers, and was instrumental in the passing of the Ancient Monuments Act 1882.

​Other achievements include the Proportional Representation Society that later became the Electoral Reform Society. He was a founding member of the ‘X Club’ set up by T. H. Huxley.

Holy Days
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But it was the passing of the Bank Holiday Act 1871, the first time the state had defined and declared secular public holidays, that really put him on the map. There had previously been several ‘holy’ days that were linked to the Church, but as the industrial age gained speed, days off for the working man and woman disappeared.

Under this Act, in addition to Christmas Day and Good Friday, it ensured Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August and 26 December, would officially become public holidays.

It may also interest you to know, and some may remember this, that until 1971, the August Bank Holiday was the first Monday of the month, the idea being to give everyone the chance to enjoy a long weekend in the summer sunshine. But businesses decided it clashed with the time many companies traditionally closed for a fortnight in August. So, from 1972, it was moved to the last Monday of the month for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland retained the original day.

So, when you head off for your extra day’s holiday with friends and family, raise a glass to St Lubbock’s Day!

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