I think it's
quite right for you to be outraged, Kath, but surprised? Well, perhaps
not.
A cynic might
even suggest that it's a good deal more surprising that they didn't just throw
the lot away. Clearly as archive professionals we're all likely to
be at the polar opposite end of the spectrum of regard for historic
documents, but there are many people out there - some of whom, I'm sure, work
for banks - who would regard deeds as worthless old bits of paper or
parchment.
Obviously one
would hope that as many depositors as possible will pitch up at that particular
branch and demand their documents and their £100 (which sounds quite
generous). Such a flood (no pun intended) might help them realize
that many people value such items and that they should perhaps have held
them in higher regard in the first place.