Let’s rewind to 1775, poverty is widespread across the country and nobility remains powerful. For your everyday worker of humble origins – times are difficult. Owning property and saving money is impractical and merely only an aspiration for many.
Something needed to change… step forward Richard Ketley, landlord of the Golden Cross Inn in Birmingham. Here he launched Ketley’s Building Society, the first ‘mutual’ building society: an organisation created by working people to help other working people buy homes by collecting their savings together.
Ketley’s Building Society ignited the emergence of mutuals, providing the chance for everyday working people to become homeowners and savers. Like many good ideas, it caught on. By 1910 there were over 1,700 societies supporting over 600,000 members nationwide.
As we fast forward to today, building societies across the UK and the Building Societies Association are celebrating the 250th anniversary year of the first known building society. This provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our origins and how the purpose of building societies and mutuals has evolved over time – and we are still growing.
Here at Harpenden our drive to serve our members and to help them secure their financial future so that their dreams and aspirations are made possible has never faltered. We are extremely proud to be independent Mutual Building Society – one which supports, values and cares about its members and local communities.
Building societies are different
The culture, behaviour and decisions at building societies are different to banks because they are customer-owned organisations. This means that their customers, more than 25 million of them, are the owners, known as members. Borrowers and savers automatically become a member when they take out a mortgage or open a savings account.
Building societies do not have any external shareholders. This is the key difference to banks whose driving force is creating profits to pay out to their external shareholders.
The different ownership means building societies are run purely for the benefit of their customers, which is reflected in their rates, products and service. Whilst not driven to maximise profits, building societies make enough profit to ensure they remain safe and sustainable. However, unlike banks, building society profits are reinvested back into the business and local communities, giving their customers overall better value and service.
The first known building society was set up in 1775 to help ordinary working people to own their homes and to provide a safe home for people’s savings. Two hundred and fifty years later and building societies are still protecting people’s savings and using these as the means for others to buy a home, ultimately creating thriving communities.
Tracie Pearce, CEO, Harpenden Building Society – “At Harpenden Building Society we have never lost sight of our purpose to help our members to save and to become homeowners. I am proud that our way of doing business is different to the banks.”
“We’re on the high street for those who value our face-to-face service, while also offering the technology to support customers who prefer to connect with us online or by phone.”
“We were founded by everyday working people, for everyday working people – to support local communities and help them thrive.”
“If you’re looking for a financial organisation that truly puts its customers first, it’s worth thinking carefully about who you choose to work with. Like all building societies, Harpenden Building Society is here to support homeownership, help you make the most of your money, and strengthen your local community.”
For more, visit our dedicated page here.
Related Articles
Latest News
JUL 10, 2026
Harpenden wins ‘Best Local Building Society’ at the 2026 What Mortgage Awards
Harpenden Building Society wins ‘Best Local Building Society’ for the 12th year in a row, as well as being marked ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Best Specialist Lender’ and ‘Best Large Loan Lender’ categories.
Industry
JUN 09, 2026
Harpenden launch Expat mortgages
FOR INTERMEDIARY/PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS ONLY. NOT FOR CONSUMER USE.
Industry
MAY 26, 2026
Member Notice – Harpenden Online scheduled maintenance
Community
MAY 20, 2026
Jon’s Savings Blog – ISA Changes in 2027
There’s a famous saying: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second‑best time is now.” Well, when it comes to ISAs… the tree is about to get a little smaller.
Industry
APR 22, 2026
Member Notice – Staff training 23rd April
Latest News
APR 17, 2026
A Q&A with our CEO Tracie
Here’s a quick Q&A from our CEO Tracie Meadows diving into our new rebrand.
Industry
JAN 22, 2026
We celebrate our new branch opening in Harpenden
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new branch, located right on the High Street, in one of the busiest areas of Harpenden. The doors opened on the 15th of January, with the event being kicked off by celebrations and excitement from colleagues and members alike. Local members were offered the chance to visit and be a VIP guest to see the grand opening and were greeted by some food and hot drinks while they got to have a look around the new branch or ask our branch team any questions that they had. It was lovely to see so many members come and show their support for us. Also there to show their support were colleagues from the Harpenden Hopper, a local charity that we have supported for a few years. We were also joined by both the Mayor of Harpenden as well as our local MP. After some lovely speeches from our Chair and the Mayor all about the community-focus of the branch, the ribbon was cut, and our new Harpenden branch was declared officially open. You might notice a refreshed look to our brand both inside and outside the building. Our new branch aims to deliver confidence to our members. Being a mutual, our focus will always be about putting our members first. The branch is a nod to our heritage within Harpenden, as well as our renewed commitment to the community and our members. The customer experience is always at the front of our minds, and the new branch has been designed with this in mind. The colourful interior, while looking refreshed and playful, creates a welcoming atmosphere for our friendly branch team to help customers in the best way they can. This branch also comes with a technical upgrade, with iPads and digital screens to aid in the member's experience. With these new upgrades, we can assure our members that the clarity and trust they hold with the Society is still there and isn't going away any time soon. Our branch colleagues are as can-do and helpful as ever, but with a larger and more prominent location, we are setting our sights on an improved future. Tracie Meadows, the CEO of Harpenden Building Society said: "We at Harpenden Building Society always put our members first. Our new branch is just that. It's us giving back to our members and the community in Harpenden." She continued that, "We're giving our customers a better experience, while still being the friendly building society that's always ready to lend a hand. We want people to leave the branch feeling confident in us, and in their financial decisions." Our new Harpenden branch represents an exciting next step for the Society, and is just the beginning - there's definitely more to look forward to in the future.
Industry
DEC 01, 2025
FSCS protection limit increase
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has increased the protection limit from £85,000 to £120,000 from 1st December 2025. This means if you hold deposits or savings with a building society, bank, credit union, or other UK-authorised financial firm, and they go out of business, FSCS can provide compensation up to £120,000 per eligible person, per authorised firm. Temporary high balance protection also applies for up to six months, covering up to £1.4 million for large one-off deposits from events like property sales, redundancy payments, or inheritances. We will be communicating this change to our members shortly and will revise our materials to reflect the increase in due course. For further information visit www.fscs.org.uk.