The
Royal Exchange at Threadneddle Street was originally set up by Sir
Thomas Gresham in 1566 in an attempt to supplant the Bourse at Antwerp
as the chief European market-place. London merchants met here daily
and soon became the centre of the country's industry. Elizabeth I
named it the Royal Exchange in 1571.
The building has twice been destroyed by fire but on both occasions
it was rebuilt on the same site. Sir William Tite was commissioned
to design and build a new Royal Exchange in 1842. It has for a long
time been the headquarters of the Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance
Group.
Rudolf
Ackermann, Royal Exchange, from Microcosm of London (1808)
(1)
William Pyne, The
Microcosm of London (1808)
The
spacious staircases lead to a gallery occupied by the Lord Mayor's
court-office, the Royal Exchange assurance office, the merchant's
seamen's office, Lloyd's subscription coffee-houses, the rooms appropriated
for Gresham lectures, and counting houses for merchants and underwriters.
The shops in the lower part of the building are employed by stockbrokers,
lottery office keepers and various retail traders.
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