This bank holiday weekend is looking pretty good, with Notting Hill Carnival set to take place in London and just-about-okay (by UK standards, anyway) weather predicted across much of the country.
Uncontroversially, I’m a huge fan of bank holidays. But I’ve always wondered why they’re called that.
I had a vague idea it had something to do with banks (which is true), but I wasn’t sure what it is about, say, a Monday in late August would necessitate a teller’s day off.
So, I looked into it recently ― and I’ve been laughing about what I found since.
What’s the history of bank holidays?
Sir John Lubbock, the 1st baron of Avery, who authored the Bank Holidays Act of 1871, is the reason why we have them in the first place.
Some say the politician, author, and banker (hence the name) set the dates according to when cricket was played in his local village ― he was said to have been a huge fan.
And per BBC Radio 4′s site, this bank holiday per weekend used to take place on the first, not the last, Monday of August.
That’s not the only change they shared, though.
“For a while some called the first bank holidays ‘St Lubbock’s Days’ after the banker Sir John Lubbock” who helped them to become law, BBC Radio 4 says.
“Funnily enough that didn’t stick,” they added.
We used to have a lot more of them
According to the Trade Union Congress, “Prior to 1834, the Bank of England observed about thirty-three saints’ days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834, this was drastically reduced to just four: Good Friday, 1st May, 1st November, and Christmas Day.”
The ’70s was the last time the Trade Union Congress (TUC) successfully campaigned for an extra bank holiday, the TUC says.
Nonetheless, they say about a third of UK workers clock in on at least one bank holiday a year (anyone in hospitality, food, transport, and more will know that other peoples’ time off is your peak crunch time).
I guess Lubbock isn’t a saint to everyone...