The Beauchamp Family

How to say it

One of the most mispronounced place names in Malton, 'Beauchamp' is pronounced 'Beecham'.

While the history behind the naming of Club Beauchamp is as yet undocumented, the reason for the naming of Beauchamp Bank in Galbraith Hills has a charming origin.

The History of Beauchamp Bank

At the beginning of the 19th century, Malton was home to a small, but persistent, group of Quakers. Despite living plainly and with all due humility, the community's lands prospered and the 'Society of Friends' found themselves to be extremely wealthy. At around the same time, several local landowners had been taking advantage of several years of good harvests and increasing the rents charged to tenants. It wasn't long before the Quakers and the landowners came into conflict.

The Quaker community had developed a reputation as fair dealers, something deeply rooted in their religious principles. As such, their rents and wages began to attract more workers than the local market could provide, and this caused local difficulties for other businesses and landowners. Searching for a solution, the Quakers eventually decided on founding a small bank.

Initially, 'The Quaker Bank' had no premises and even fewer depositors. Its capitol was lent out at rates far lower than the local tallymen gave, and with no requirement for collateral other than a promise to repay. The landowners immediately complained to the local authorities, citing the banks' lack of premises as a reason its founders should be imprisoned for fraud.

The Quakers responded by purchasing a small patch of land and erected a one-room cabin on it. This cabin was staffed by members of the Beauchamp family, and so became known as 'The Beauchamp Bank', despite it being owned and run by the Quaker community as a whole.

The tide of deposits and withdrawals turned as (contrary to expectations) poor local people made good on their promises to repay and began to increase their incomes. Many local businesses owed their origins to loans made at low rates by the Beauchamps, and Malton began to grow.

By the start of the 20th century, The Beauchamp Bank had been absorbed into a larger banking group, but the name persisted locally.

Current Family Members

The Beauchamp family stayed in Malton, some remained Quakers and some left the church. Other Beauchamps moved in to Malton before 'The Outbreak'. At the time of writing, no prominent Beauchamps were known of in Malton. This situation is, of course, subject to change due to the current conditions within Malton.