NEW BANK OF ENGLAND

Evening Star, Issue 21116, 31 May 1932, Page 2

NEW BANK OF ENGLAND

MARVEL OF BUILDING PUZZLE FOR THIEVES The Bank of England is being rebuilt. It will be another two years before the task is finished, but the passer-by can now obtain a very good idea of the appearance the building will present when completed. But it is not the outside of the new bank which will be the real wonder; it will be the marvellous and ingenious devices inside that will guard its treasures from thieves that will be the bank’s greatest triumph. A modern bank is one of the wonders of the world. Its strong rooms, with their massive doors and marvellous locks, cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. Some of the nickel steel plates in the walls weigh sixty tons each, and under the floor is a bed of concrete and steel 10ft thick. The door is the greatest marvel of all. Often these doors are round in shape and weigh twenty-five tons. Each is held fast by twenty-four massive bolts, and every bolt weighs nearly a hundredweight. COMBINATION LOCKS. The locks that fasten the doors are among the cleverest inventions of man’s ingenuity. They have no keyholes into which explosives could be put by burglars, but are turned on spindles, and have a wonderful combination of parts, so that no one can open them without the clue. Clockwork set for a certain hour prevents them from being opened before the proper time There are corridors right round the strong rooms, with mirrors placed at angles, so that watchmen can keep a lookout all round. Sometimes steam pipes run in these corridors, and m case of attack by thieves jets of steam can be turned upon the burglars. At other times the corridors can be quickly flooded with water. When finished the Bank of England will bo the strongest place in the world.