The Bank Holidays Act 1871
Before 1834, the Bank of England closed on around 33 saints' days and religious festivals a year. By 1834 that had been cut to just four: Good Friday, 1 May, 1 November and Christmas Day.
The Liberal politician and banker Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act in 1871. It created four bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland – Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August and Boxing Day – and five in Scotland: New Year's Day, Good Friday, the first Monday in May, the first Monday in August and Christmas Day. Good Friday and Christmas Day were already traditional days off in England and Wales, so they weren't included. People were so grateful that the new days were nicknamed "St Lubbock's Days".
The law today
Bank holidays are now set by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971. It lists the regular bank holidays for each part of the UK and lets the government change them, or add new ones, by Royal Proclamation. That's how one-off holidays such as royal jubilees and coronations are created.
Some changes came later. New Year's Day became a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1974, and the early May bank holiday was added in 1978. Whit Monday was replaced by the fixed spring bank holiday on the last Monday in May in 1971. Scotland gained St Andrew's Day as a bank holiday in 2007.
Why the UK nations are different
Scotland has always had its own list, reflecting the importance of New Year (Hogmanay) and a different tradition around Easter. Northern Ireland has St Patrick's Day and the Battle of the Boyne. Wales shares England's bank holidays and doesn't have a separate holiday for St David's Day.
Bank holidays and your job
Despite the name, there is no legal right to have a bank holiday off work. It depends on your contract. Find out more in our guide to bank holiday entitlement and pay.