<P> The growth of Britain's industry stimulated a concomitant growth in her system of finance and credit . In the 18th century, services offered by banks increased . Clearing facilities, security investments, cheques and overdraft protections were introduced . Cheques were invented in the 17th century in England and banks settled payments by direct courier to the issuing bank . Around 1770, they began meeting in a central location, and by the 19th century a dedicated space was established, known as a bankers' clearing house . The London clearing house used a method where each bank paid cash to and then was paid cash by an inspector at the end of each day . The first overdraft facility was set up in 1728 by The Royal Bank of Scotland . </P> <P> The end of the Napoleonic War and the subsequent rebound in trade, led to an expansion in the bullion reserves held by the Bank of England, from a low of under 4 million pounds in 1821 to 14 million pounds by late 1824 . </P> <P> Older innovations became routine parts of financial life during the 19th century . The Bank of England first issued bank notes during the 17th century, but the notes were hand written and few in number . After 1725 they were partially printed, but cashiers still had to sign each note and make them payable to a named person . In 1844, parliament passed the Bank Charter Act tying these notes to gold reserves, effectively creating the institution of central banking and monetary policy . The notes became fully printed and widely available from 1855 . </P> <P> Growing international trade increased the number of banks, especially in London . These new "merchant banks" facilitated trade growth, profiting from England's emerging dominance in seaborne shipping . Two immigrant families, Rothschild and Baring, established merchant banking firms in London in the late 18th century and came to dominate world banking in the next century . The tremendous wealth amassed by these banking firms soon attracted much attention . The poet George Gordon Byron wrote in 1823: "Who makes politics run glibber all? / The shade of Bonaparte's noble daring? / Jew Rothschild and his fellow - Christian, Baring ." </P>

Where did industrial capitalism originate and what advantages did this location have