Where it all started - our history

Born and bred in Yorkshire.

See how we've grown from a single room in Huddersfield into one of the largest building societies in the UK.

Our history

1864

Huddersfield Equitable Permanent Benefit Building Society is established by three gentlemen who meet each morning from 5am to 8am in a single room in Huddersfield. Early directors of the Society include a dentist, a shoemaker and a plumber.

 

At the end of the first year there were six borrowers and assets of £4,044 13s 5d.

1864 crest

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1866

West Yorkshire Building Society is established at the Royal Hotel in Dewsbury with only two staff.

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1871

Two 'luxury' items are purchased for the Society's offices - an umbrella and a rug.

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1885

Bradford Self Help Permanent Building Society is established in St. George's Hall Coffee Tavern.

 

At the end of the first year there were 43 members and assets of £185,000.

passbook

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1885-89

During its first four years of business the Bradford Permanent opens for just an hour and a half, once a week.

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1893

By this date, the Society's office was fitted with the electric light.

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1915

The first lady employees join the Society.

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1923

The number of staff employed by the West Yorkshire Building Society has doubled to four.

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1930

The modernised offices of the Bradford Permanent open at Queen Anne Chambers - complete with rubber covered floors and ultraviolet ray glass.

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1975

The Huddersfield and Bradford Building Societies merge in the largest marriage of two societies to date.

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1982

The Huddersfield & Bradford and West Yorkshire Building Societies merge - the Yorkshire Building Society is born!

old logo

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1992

Yorkshire Building Society merges with the Haywards Heath Building Society.

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1998

The Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation established as an independent registered charity.

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2001

Yorkshire Building Society is the third largest mutual in Britain with assets of over £11 billion.

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2003

Yorkshire Building Society launched its intermediary-only lending subsidiary Accord Mortgages.

old logo

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2008

Assets now in excess of £23 billion with 2 million members.

 

The Yorkshire merges with Barnsley Building Society (with 60,000 members and assets £368m) on 31 December.

barnsley logo

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2010

The Yorkshire merges with Chelsea Building Society on 1 April 2010. Our combined assets are now of over £30bn, 2.8m members and a network of 178 branches.

chelsea logo

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2011

The Yorkshire acquires Egg mortgage and savings book, and the Egg brand, on 31 October 2011.

 

The Yorkshire merges with the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society on 1 November 2011.

N&P logo

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2012

At the end of the year, our assets had grown to approximately £33 billion with 3.5m members.

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2014

Happy 150th Birthday YBS!

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2014

My Voice, our member online research community went live - giving members the opportunity to feedback on a variety of topics that really matter.

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2015

Colleagues and Marie Curie nurses brewed up a new Guinness World Records title in aid of Marie Curie, when a total of 667 Society colleagues took part in the largest cream tea party in multiple venues.

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2016

Money Minds, our financial education programme for 5-19 year olds was launched. Delivered by colleagues, its designed to promote learning and discussion with young people.

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2016

The Barnsley Building Society brand is retired and the Chelsea Building Society brand becomes online and telephone only. Most branches under these brands are rebranded to Yorkshire Building Society.
new ybs logo

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2017

The Norwich & Peterborough Building Society is retired, making Yorkshire Building Society our sole high street brand and delivering greater efficiency and improved value to our three million customers, including access to a larger national high street network in more than 240 towns and cities.
new N&P logo

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2017

Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation said thanks a million to its members who have contributed their own money to the more than £4 million donated to help charities and good causes around the UK.

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2018

We signed the Women in Finance Charter and made a commitment to improve gender diversity.

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2020

Our Savings App was launched.

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2024

Yorkshire Building Society celebrates 160 years!