Co.. In 1847, he was made a partner in the company, as also later were his three younger brothers. In 1860, upon the retirement of his father, Oliver became the senior partner of the bank, which was then renamed as Heywood Brothers & Co. Under Oliver Heywood's leadership, the bank fulfilled his father's legacy within the business; the bank kept its reputation that it had earned for reliability and prudence. These two particular qualities would prove to be both tested, then after reaffirmed, to be defining for the bank's survival during the financial crisis of 1866, which was spurred by the collapse of an old and prestigious banking firm "Overend, Gurney & Co."; this major bankruptcy caused a serious panic within the English banking sector. Oliver Heywood was in London at the time when the crisis first struck. He witnessed all the panic that had ensued after the bankruptcy of Overend, Gurney & Co.; the entire banking sector in London was in chaos. Heywood's first instinct was to hurry home to Manchester to check on the firm: luckily everything at the firm had been copacetic, just how he left it. The firm's well-weathering of the financial crisis of 1866 is largely given credit to how Heywood managed his company, he was reliable and prudent. Never taking a risk that was too dangerous or that would over-extend the firm financially. In 1876, Oliver Heywood would remain the senior partner of Heywood Brothers & Co. until the firm was acquired by Manchester & Salford Bank. As part of the agreement made in the acquisition, there was an arrangement that Heywood and his three younger brothers would continue to hold high ranking positions in Manchester & Salford Bank. The arrangement made Heywood and his brothers directors in the new firm. In 1878, Heywood had retired all his obligations, beyond being a shareholder, to the Manchester & Salford Bank. This virtually meant that he stopped attending the board meetings that were required of a member of the Board of Directors; and in turn was not re-elected to the firm's board. Heywood's reasoning for no longer attending the board meetings came from a place of disapproval with the firm's general manager Thomas Read Wilkinson's recent acquisition. Wilkinson had made the decision to purchase Hardcastle, Cross & Co., the bank that was located in Bolton. Philanthropy Oliver Heywood's family bank was very successful during the Victorian