the 1790s and the first three decades of the nineteenth century saw a series of banking crises in england. many banks saw runs on their banknotes and deposits, and many failed. the banknotes of the time were issued by private banks as a promise to redeem the note for coin on demand, but most banks relied on their notes being used as a "de facto" currency and issued more than they could redeem if everyone who held them demanded payment. at the same time, gold reserves in england were heavily depleted by government spending in the french revolutionary wars and napoleonic wars, so that even the bank of england had to suspend redemption of its notes from 1797 to 1821. backhouse's bank used both their reserves and their relationships with london banks to honour their notes through these periods. however, their distance from london (the main market that could supply gold currency) caused difficulties. supplies were obtained by partners travelling to london by post, but secrecy had to be preserved to maintain confidence in the bank's liquidity. in 1819, lord darlington, as part of a long-running dispute with the backhouse family, began amassing their banknotes by requiring his tenants to pay their rent using them. he intended to present a large quantity of notes all at once, more than could be redeemed on the spot, and so break the bank. jonathan backhouse was warned of the plot and travelled quickly to london to obtain a large amount of gold. while returning to darlington the wheel of his carriage broke, but rather than lose time, he stacked the gold so as to balance the carriage on its three wheels and continued on his way. lord darlington's notes were all redeemed for cash.