1 Pound White, 1807 Issue

The Bank of England did not issue £1 notes before 1797. The Restriction Period — triggered by the threat of a French invasion and a run on gold reserves — forced suspension of cash payments and pushed the Bank into small-denomination paper for the first time. These white notes, printed on one side only using a proprietary vellum-finish paper with a distinctive watermark, were hand-signed by one of the Bank's cashiers, each signature adding a layer of fraud deterrence that proved largely inadequate.

Forgery was rampant throughout the series. Between 1797 and 1821, over 300 people were hanged or transported for forging or uttering forged Bank of England notes — a statistic that drew fierce public criticism, including a pamphlet campaign by William Cobbett. The 1807 issue sits mid-run, after successive design modifications intended to address the counterfeiting problem, none of which solved it.

Cash payments resumed in 1821; £1 and £2 notes were withdrawn by 1826, ending the series entirely.