Royal Exchange, London
In 1562, a merchant named Richard Clough proposed a new building to serve as the commercial heart of London. Sir Thomas Gresham, who had served as the English crown's representative in Antwerp, embraced this idea after seeing the Stock Exchange there. The City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers provided the land for the project. They agreed to jointly own the freehold of the site forever. Gresham paid thousands of pounds himself to import stone, slate, wainscot, and glass from Belgium. These materials formed the foundation of Britain's first specialist commercial building. On the 23rd of January 1571, Queen Elizabeth I officially opened the structure. She granted it the title "Royal" and issued a licence allowing the sale of alcohol and valuable goods within its walls. Only the exchange of physical goods occurred during those early decades. Stockbrokers were barred from entering because their manners were considered rude by the merchants. Instead, they operated from nearby establishments like Jonathan's Coffee-House.
The original wooden tower over the south entrance eventually fell into disrepair. In 1821, George Smith replaced it with a new stone tower and cupola. A second complex designed by Edward Jarman stood on the site until the 10th of January 1838. That day, an overheated stove caused a massive fire that destroyed the entire building. The blaze was so intense it could be seen from Windsor Castle. Following this disaster, Lloyd's insurance market had to move temporarily to South Sea House. Sir William Tite won a competition in 1839-40 to design the third version of the Exchange. His design preserved the four-sided layout surrounding a central courtyard where traders could conduct business. Internal works by Edward I'Anson utilized concrete, marking one of the earliest uses of this modern construction method. Queen Victoria opened the current neoclassical building on the 28th of October 1844. Trading did not commence there until the 1st of January 1845. The trapezoidal floor plan now flanks Cornhill and Threadneedle Street at Bank junction.
Two statues stand in niches within the central courtyard today. One depicts Charles II as a copy made in 1792 by John Spiller after Grinling Gibbons' original statue. This specific sculpture survived the fire of 1838 that consumed the previous exchange. The other statue shows Queen Elizabeth I created by Musgrave Watson in 1844. It was commissioned because she was the monarch who conferred the Royal status upon the building. In front of the portico stands a bronze statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. This work represents the final piece by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey. The government donated the bronze used to cast it, sourcing the metal from French cannons captured during the Napoleonic Wars. Unveiled on the 18th of June 1844, the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, it stood before the King of Saxony. Between the Wellington statue and the steps lies the London Troops Memorial. Designed by Sir Aston Webb, this monument commemorates military units associated with the City and County of London during the First World War. Two bronze soldiers flank the structure while a lion surmounts it, all sculpted by Alfred Drury.
A golden grasshopper sits atop the clock tower as the Royal Exchange's weathervane. According to legend, the chirps of a real grasshopper once led to the discovery of a foundling child. That child became the first of the house of Gresham and the ancestor of Sir Thomas Gresham himself. The current weathervane measures three feet long and was rescued from the fire of 1838. It stands thirty-five feet above street level on a tower containing a clock made by Edward John Dent. A similar grasshopper weathervane exists on Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. Shem Drowne created that American example in 1742 after being inspired by the London original. The tower also houses a chime of fifteen bells cast by Charles and George Mears of Whitechapel in 1844. These bells weigh over two tons combined and can play tunes like God Save the King and Rule Britannia. Professor Taylor advised increasing the number of bells from nine to fifteen to allow for playing in three octaves.
From 1892 onwards, twenty-four scenes depicting key moments in London history appeared on the first-floor walls. Artists including Sir Frederic Leighton, Sir Frank Brangwyn, and Stanhope Forbes painted these murals as a continuous sequence. One scene shows Phoenicians trading with early Britons on the coast of Cornwall by Sir Frederic Leighton in 1895. Another depicts Alfred the Great repairing the walls of the City of London by Frank O. Salisbury in 1912. William the Conqueror granting a Charter to Citizens appears in a work by John Seymour Lucas dated 1898. A mural titled Women's Work in the Great War was completed by Lucy Kemp-Welch in 1922. The final piece, Modern Commerce, was painted by Sir Frank Brangwyn in 1906. During the Second World War, trading at the Royal Exchange virtually ended. The building survived the Blitz despite suffering some near misses that threatened its structural integrity.
In 1982, the Royal Exchange faced severe disrepair with a glass roof threatening to collapse. The newly formed London International Financial Futures Exchange became the main tenant. LIFFE used the courtyard for its trading floor without altering the original framework of the building. They moved operations to Cannon Bridge in 1991. Extensive remodeling occurred again in 2001 under architects Aukett Fitzroy Robinson. This project involved restoring the fabric of the building and adding a two-floor office extension. In 2013, Anglo Irish Bank sold a lease of the property to Oxford Properties, a Canadian company. The deal included a 104-year lease on the site. Oxford Properties Group later sold the retail centre for approximately £50 million in October 2022. Today, the Royal Exchange houses restaurants and luxury shops alongside historical features. Two statues stand in a lane by the eastern entrance honoring Paul Julius Reuter and George Peabody.
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Common questions
When was the Royal Exchange in London officially opened by Queen Elizabeth I?
Queen Elizabeth I officially opened the Royal Exchange on the 23rd of January 1571. She granted it the title Royal and issued a licence allowing the sale of alcohol and valuable goods within its walls.
What caused the fire that destroyed the second Royal Exchange building in 1838?
An overheated stove caused a massive fire on the 10th of January 1838 that destroyed the entire building. The blaze was so intense it could be seen from Windsor Castle.
Who designed the current neoclassical Royal Exchange building that opened in 1844?
Sir William Tite won a competition in 1839-40 to design the third version of the Exchange. His design preserved the four-sided layout surrounding a central courtyard where traders could conduct business.
Why does the Royal Exchange have a grasshopper weathervane on top of its clock tower?
According to legend, the chirps of a real grasshopper once led to the discovery of a foundling child who became the ancestor of Sir Thomas Gresham. The current weathervane measures three feet long and was rescued from the fire of 1838.
Which murals depict key moments in London history on the first-floor walls of the Royal Exchange?
Twenty-four scenes depicting key moments in London history appeared on the first-floor walls starting from 1892. Artists including Sir Frederic Leighton, Sir Frank Brangwyn, and Stanhope Forbes painted these murals as a continuous sequence.