Egyptian style pediment in the interior of at the Bank of England in the City of London. Affectionately known as 'The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street', the Bank of England has been through several incarnations in its three-hundred year history. Now a large and imposing edifice sprawling over four acres of the City, the original bank opened for business in 1694 in the Mercers' Hall later moving on to the Grocers' Hall.