Royal Exchange (London)
The Royal Exchange is a building in the City of London , between Cornhill and Threadneedle Streets. The city's first stock exchange was founded at this location, and since 2001 there has been a shopping center with exclusive shops such as Hermès and Tiffany .
story
In 1565 Thomas Gresham had the idea of building a stock exchange in London to facilitate trading. He himself took over the construction costs, while the Corporation of London and the Worshipful Company of Mercers provided the triangular site. The shape of the building was inspired by the Antwerp stock exchange , and a Flemish architect took over the construction management. Queen Elizabeth I opened the Royal Exchange on January 23, 1571. In the 17th century, stock dealers had no access to the building because of their rowdy behavior and therefore traded in nearby buildings, such as Jonathan's Coffee House .
Gresham's original Elizabethan building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 . It was decided to rebuild the Royal Exchange at the same location. The architect in charge was Edward Jarman, King Charles II laid the foundation stone and Samuel Pepys described this event in his diary. In 1669 trading was resumed. In 1774, Lloyd’s moved into the building. A fire broke out again there in 1838 and the Royal Exchange burned down completely for the second time. Reconstruction began immediately, with Prince Albert laying the foundation stone. William Tite created the building in the classical style. It was opened on October 28, 1844 by Queen Victoria , but trading did not resume until January 1, 1845.
Lloyd's moved to its own building in 1928, and trading came to a complete standstill in 1939 because of World War II . The building survived the war unscathed. A theater used the courtyard from 1953 to 1959. In 1982 the London International Financial Futures and Option Exchange moved in , which was taken over by Euronext twenty years later . In 2001 the building was renovated.
The second Royal Exchange in 1751
The Royal Exchange around 1910
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 49 ″ N , 0 ° 5 ′ 14 ″ W.