Bank of England note issues England Mark Carney announced that a newly designed £10 banknote, featuring novelist Jane Austen, would be issued in 2017. The campaign for a woman to appear celebrated the choice as "a brilliant day". The date of issue was subsequently confirmed as 14 September 2017. Like the £5 note featuring Churchill, the new £10 note is made from polymer rather than cotton paper. It depicts: £20 notes, in white, appeared in 1725 and continued to be issued until 1943. They ceased to be legal tender in 1945. After World War II, the £20 denomination did not reappear until 1970, when the
Bank of England note issues conditions of war. The Country Bankers’ Act 1826 allowed some joint-stock banks outside London to issue notes, and also allowed the Bank of England to open branches in major provincial cities, enabling better distribution of its notes. With the passing of the Bank Notes Act 1833, Bank of England notes over £5 in value were first given the status of "legal tender" in England and Wales, effectively guaranteeing the worth of the Bank's notes and ensuring public confidence in the notes in times of crisis or war. The Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 extended the definition of legal tender