22 February 2011 Last updated at 07:46 ET

Chelmsford Museum displays old £1 bank note

The museum has added the note to their collection

A £1 note which was issued by a bank in Essex in 1824 is being displayed in a Chelmsford museum.

The handwritten note was issued 187 years ago by The Chelmsford Bank, which was owned by the Crickitt family.

The note belonged to the Chaplin family, who have farmed in the Galleywood area of Chelmsford for several generations.

It was given to the Galleywood Heritage Centre and passed on to Chelmsford council, which donated £350 in return.

"In the early days of the 19th Century, there weren't national banks, they were all individual town and county banks," said Nick Wickendon, head of Chelmsford Museum services.

"What's so interesting is 1824 was just a year before Crickitt and Company went bust."

At the time, a number of investors were investing in a country in South America called Poyais, which turned out to be fictitious.

The subsequent stock market crash forced Crickett and Company to collapse on Christmas Eve 1825, and they were followed by several other town banks.

A spokesperson for Chelmsford Borough Council said: "The council contributed £350 to the Galleywood Heritage Centre towards local fundraising efforts in exchange for the unique bank note which we now proudly exhibit in the museum as a piece of local history."