The Gurney banking business began with Gurney & Co. Norwich, opened by Quaker brothers, John and Henry Gurney in 1775. They had acquired their wealth as worsted, linen and yarn merchants. As banking became more profitable than cloth, their business expanded and they established partnerships in Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn, Wisbech, Fakenham, Ipswich, Colchester and Halesworth. By 1838 the Gurneys were described as “exercising an influence and a power inferior to that of no banking establishment in Great Britain – that of the Bank of England alone excepted.” Like many successful Quakers, some of the Gurney family members found it difficult to reconcile their faith with their wealth. Joseph Gurney dedicated his life to his bank, his religion and good causes. He campaigned for prison reform and against slavery, and in 1837 went on a 3 year ministering tour of the West Indies and America, giving away one third of his share of the Bank's profits for the duration.
In 1896, in order to meet the competition of the joint stock banks, all the Gurney & Co. banks amalgamated with 11 other private banks to form Barclays Bank.