Prior to 1834, the Bank of England observed about 33 saints' days and religious festivals as holidays, but in 1834 this was reduced to four: 1 May(May Day), 1 November (All Saints Day), Good Friday, and Christmas Day. In 1871, the first legislation relating to bank holidays was passed when Liberal politician and banker Sir John Lubbock introduced the Bank Holidays Act 1871. The English people were so thankful that some called the first Bank Holidays St Lubbock's Days for a while. Scotland was treated separately because of its separate traditions: for example, New Year is a more important holiday there.
1834年之前，英国央行通常将33个圣人节与宗教节日作为假期。但在1834年，这些假期减至4个，分别为5月1日的五一国际劳动节、11月1日的万圣节、耶稣受难日以及圣诞节。1871年，自由党的政客与银行家约翰·卢布克爵士提出了《银行假日法案》，首部关于银行假日的法规得以通过。英国人对他是如此感激，以至于有一段时间银行假日被称之为圣卢布克节。苏格兰跟英格兰的情况有所区别，因为苏格兰有其自己的传统，如新年对于苏格兰人来说是一个更为重要的假期。
The Act did not specify Good Friday and Christmas Day as bank holidays in England, Wales, or Ireland because they were already recognised as common law holidays: they had been customary holidays since before records began. In 1903, the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act added 17 March, Saint Patrick's Day, as a bank holiday for Ireland only. New Year's Day did not become a bank holiday in England until 1 January 1974.
这个法案没有规定耶稣受难日与圣诞节在英格兰、威尔士或爱尔兰也是银行假日，因为这几个节日已是法定假日——自有记录以来，这就已经是传统的假期了。1903年，《银行假日法案》单独给爱尔兰将3月17日的圣帕特里克节也定为银行假日。直到1974年1月1日，新年在英格兰才成为银行假日。
