John Freame

Born in a family of a Gloucestershire clothier, Freame became an apprentice of Job Boulton, a goldsmith of London in 1683. Upon completion of his apprenticeship, he entered into a partnership with a Quaker Thomas Gould and started a banking business. The partnership lasted until Thomas’s death in 1728.

From its beginnings, Freame’s career was built on religious connections which were formed during his apprenticeship. The Freame bank was one of the few 17th century banks to survive well into the next century and was focused on the merchant community. It financed links with the English provinces, as well as with Quaker traders of American and Caribbean colonies and the Baltic. Among the enterprises that they backed were the Enfield turnpike, Atlantic trading ventures, the Pennsylvania Land Company, the London Lead Company, and the Welsh Copper Company. During his career, Freame was also a governor of the London Lead Company.

In 1736, following John Freame's retirement, his son-in-law, James Barclay became a partner in the bank making it Freame and Barclay.