Warwick volunteers staging performance of the Great Warwick Bank Crash during Warwick Words Festival

Unlocking Warwick are preparing a reconstruction of the hearings and court case that followed the sudden collapse of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank in 1887. Top photo by Michael Tompsett, bottom left shows Kelynge Greenway in the stocks, supplied to Unlocking Warwick by the County Record Office and bottom right shows The Court House in Jury Street. Photo by Warwick Town Council

Volunteers in Warwick are working to stage a performance telling the story of the Great Warwick Bank Crash, which is due to be performed during Warwick Words Festival.

This month it is the 135th anniversary of the sudden collapse of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, when thousands of people lost their savings.

Warwick Words Festival returning later this year for its 20th anniversary event

Kelynge Greenway in the stocks, supplied to Unlocking Warwick by the County Record Office

Unlocking Warwick, the town council volunteers, have been researching what happened after the bank crashed in 1887, and are preparing a reconstruction of the hearings and court case that followed, when angry Warwick citizens demanded the bank’s owners be sent to jail.

It will be performed in the Court House ballroom on the final afternoon of the Warwick Words History Festival on October 9.

Unlocking Warwick’s Secretary, Rick Thompson, who has written the script, said: “The County Record Office has detailed accounts of the bankruptcy hearings when evidence emerged of reckless investments by the Greenway brothers who ran the bank.

"It’s collapse, owing more than £20 million at today’s values, was regarded as the biggest disaster to hit the town since the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694.

“Angry creditors marched to the magistrates court in Jury Street demanding their money back and the arrest of those responsible.

"They even burned effigies of the Greenway brothers.

"The dramatisation will hope to capture that mood, with the audience playing the part of the creditors, and encouraged to ‘ooh’ and ‘boo’ as the shocking facts emerge.

“Our volunteers will be joined by some guest actors, including two former mayors and the High Sheriff of Warwickshire who will be playing the part of the judge.

"Will he find enough evidence to convict the Greenway brothers of fraud?”

The ‘Warwick Bank Crash of 1887’ will be performed at 2pm on Sunday, October 9.

Tickets are still available at £14 and include tea and biscuits in the interval. They can be purchased from the visitor information centres in Warwick and Leamington or by calling 01926 334418.

Tickets can also be purchased online at: https://warwickwords.co.uk/index.php/event/2022/93-sunday-9-october-2022/301-unlocking-warwick