The spread eagle emblem has featured prominently throughout the history of Barclays. In the late seventeenth century a goldsmith-banker called John Freame was living in the City of London. The exact date when he started his business is not known, but in 1690 he was a partner in a banking business which traded at premises in Lombard Street. Barclays Sign
In those days very few people could read or write and business houses used pictorial signs so that their customers could find them easily. In 1728, Freame moved to the present site in Lombard Street at the sign of the Black Spread Eagle. The business expanded over the years and other properties in Lombard Street were acquired. The banking partnership chose 54 Lombard Street as their official address, but the sign of that house - the bible - was thought to be inappropriate as a sign for a Quaker business, so they adopted the Spread Eagle sign over the extended premises.