Barclays ya samo asali ne daga 1690 lokacin da John Freame, Quaker, da Thomas Gould suka fara kasuwanci a matsayin masu banki na zinariya a Lombard Street, London. Sunan "Barclays" ya zama yana da alaƙa da kasuwancin a 1736, lokacin da surukin Freame James Barclay ya zama abokin tarayya. A 1728 bankin ya koma 54 Lombard Street, wanda aka gano ta 'Alamar Black Spread Eagle', wanda a cikin shekaru masu zuwa zai zama babban ɓangare na asalin bankin.
1736 da kuma