Nicholas Barbon: Developing London, 1667-1698

London grew rapidly in the last quarter of the seventeenth century and Nicholas Barbon was central to its physical transformation. This first complete biography analyses how Barbon’s property development was closely connected to financial innovations. His speculative activity created rows of terrace houses and squares that became the norm for the city’s future development, but at the same time he set up the first fire insurance company, the second bank, became an MP, and published on economic matters such as free trade and recoinage.