Istanbul bank's famous historical link with Bolton

From the Bolton Evening News, first published Thursday 23rd Oct 2003.

BOLTON visitors to the Imperial Ottoman Bank museum in the centre of Istanbul, Turkey, will feel at home -- the vault doors bear the words "Chatwoods of Bolton".

The bank, which was converted into a museum last year, has a fascinating link to Bolton dating back two centuries.

And it is thanks to a Bolton man that the Turkish authorities were able to research the history of their famous safes now visited by thousands of tourists.

Mr Denis O'Connor from Breightmet was a member of the now defunct Bolton Industrial Heritage Society and started delving into the fascinating history of the Chatwood family several years ago and wrote a manuscript.

Meanwhile visitor Stuart Smith, from the International Committee for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage, went to the bank in Istanbul and saw the Chatwood name on the strong room doors.

He contacted Bolton Museum for help in tracing the company, and was put in touch with Mr O'Connor who was able to send all his research to the museum.

"Everyone always thinks of Samuel Crompton as Bolton's only famous son, but not many people know about the Chatwood family, and Samuel Chatwood was an intriguing man," said Mr O'Connor.

Samuel Chatwood was born in East Lancashire in 1833 and by the age of 23 he was dealing in safes and ironmongery.

He went on to become the father of modern day safes and built the "Rolls Royce" of safes all over the world from Turkey to South America and even in the Punjab.

Mr O'Connor found out that Mr Chatwood lived at Wentworth Place, Bolton, a large Georgian style house in an exclusive suburb of the town.

He slowly built up his business and had three sons and two daughters. He set up a foundry at Bark Street and also leased the Vulcan Foundry in Foundry Street

It was Chatwood who patented the name "Invincible" for his safes. He offered buyers of his safes four hours to try and crack them with gunpowder and burglars tools and awarded them £500 if they managed to do so.

The development by Chatwood of the bank strong room reached its 19th century peak with the completion of the building for the Imperial Ottoman bank in Istanbul.

It contained 300 tons of steel and 200 tons of concrete - and it still stands today.

Aylin Besiryan from the Ottoman Bank Archives and Research Centre said the museum is the first banking museum in Turkey and it is built inside and around the four strong rooms secured by Chatwood patent.

"Today the strong rooms house important documents including account books and banknotes issued by the Ottoman Bank. There is a file on Samuel Chatwood and the company stored in the library."

Unfortunately, Chatwood eventually went bankrupt after dabbling in the tin crushing business in Cornwall and the business was sold. He left Bolton in the 1920s and moved to Shrewsbury.

There are still examples of Chatwood's work dotted around Bolton - at Smithills Hall and at a bank in Deansgate.

Archive Home