In 1810 Dr. Henry Duncan opened the world’s first savings bank based on business principles, paying interest on its investors’ modest savings.
The original Ruthwell Parish Bank is now home of the Savings Banks Museum. The eighteenth century building houses a collection of early home savings boxes, coins and bank notes from many parts of the world.
There are books on the worldwide spread of savings banks. The modest but important archives include documents and letters on the history of savings banks.