Richard Clough initially suggested building the exchange in 1562, and its original design was inspired by the
Stock Exchange in Antwerp, the world's first purpose-built
bourse, with which Thomas Gresham, the representative of the English crown in Antwerp, was familiar, and on which the designs of the bourses of
Amsterdam (1611) and
Rotterdam would also be based. It was Britain's first specialist
commercial building, and Clough oversaw the importing of some of the materials from Antwerp: stone, slate, wainscot and glass, for which he paid thousands of pounds himself. The Royal Exchange was officially opened on 23 January 1571 by
Queen Elizabeth I, who awarded the building its royal title and a licence to sell alcohol and valuable goods. Only the exchange of goods took place until the 17th century.
Stockbrokers were not allowed into the Royal Exchange because of their rude manners, hence they had to operate from other establishments in the vicinity, such as
Jonathan's Coffee-House. Gresham's original building was destroyed in the
Great Fire of London in 1666. A second complex was built on the site, designed by Edward Jarman and opened in 1669. It featured a tall wooden tower over the south entrance in Corn Hill; this eventually fell into disrepair and, in 1821, was replaced by a new stone tower and
cupola designed by
George Smith. The second Exchange was also burned down on 10 January 1838 in a fire caused by an overheated stove; the blaze was visible from
Windsor, away. It had been used by the
Lloyd's insurance market, which was forced to move temporarily to South Sea House following the 1838 fire. Wenceslas Hollar - Royal Exchange (State 2).jpg|The original Royal Exchange in an engraving by
Wenceslaus Hollar Bourse de Londres (Description de l'Univers, V, pl. 22).jpg|The second Royal Exchange by
Alain Manesson Mallet in 1683 Image-RoyalExchangeThomasBowles1751 2.jpg|The Royal Exchange from Corn Hill by Thomas Bowles in 1781 Microcosm of London Plate 067 - Royal Exchange (tone and colour).jpg|The interior of the Exchange in the late 18th century Royal Exchange and Cornhill.jpg|The Royal Exchange in 1837 shortly before it was destroyed by fire, showing the replacement tower
Current building The third Royal Exchange building, which still stands today, was designed by
Sir William Tite who won the commission through a competition in 1839-40 at the expense of
C. R. Cockerell. Tite's design adheres to the original layout–consisting of a four-sided structure surrounding a central courtyard where merchants and tradesmen could do business. The internal works, designed by
Edward I'Anson, made use of
concrete—an early example of this modern construction method. It features pediment sculptures by
Richard Westmacott (the younger), and ornamental cast ironwork by
Henry Grissell's Regent's Canal Ironworks. It was opened by
Queen Victoria on 28 October 1844, though trading did not commence until 1 January 1845.
Paul Julius Reuter established the
Reuters news agency at 1, Royal Exchange Buildings (opposite and to the east of the Royal Exchange) in 1851. It later moved to
Fleet Street. Royal Exchange from above.jpg|Aerial view from the rear Pictorial Handbook of London (1854), p. 383 – Ground plan of Royal Exchange.jpg|Plan of the ground floor Pictorial Handbook of London (1854), p. 382 – Plan of first floor of Royal Exchange.jpg|Plan of the first floor
Portico and pediment The western end of the building consists of a
portico of eight
Corinthian columns topped by a
pediment containing a
tympanum with
relief sculpture by
Richard Westmacott (the younger) of seventeen figures representing London merchants and foreign traders. The central
allegorical figure represents Commerce, above an inscription chosen by
Albert, Prince Consort from
Psalm 24: "The Earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof".
Statues Two statues stand in
niches in the central courtyard.
Charles II (a copy of 1792 by
John Spiller after
Grinling Gibbons' statue in the centre of the 17th century courtyard) and
Queen Elizabeth I by
Musgrave Watson, 1844. The Charles II statue survived the fire of 1838 that destroyed the previous Exchange. The Elizabeth I statue was commissioned as she was the monarch who had conferred the status "Royal" on the Exchange. In front of the portico of the Royal Exchange is a statue of
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, the last work of Sir
Francis Leggatt Chantrey. The bronze used to cast it was donated by the government and sourced from French
cannons captured during the
Napoleonic Wars. It was unveiled on 18 June 1844, the anniversary of the
Battle of Waterloo, in the presence of
the King of Saxony.
The Gresham Grasshopper The golden Gresham
Grasshopper is the Royal Exchange's
weathervane and was the
crest of the founder, Sir
Thomas Gresham. According to legend, a grasshopper's chirps once led to the discovery of a foundling, who became the first of the house of Gresham and the ancestor of Sir Thomas Gresham. The Grasshopper weathervane was rescued from the 1838 fire and is long. It stands above street level on a
clock tower which has a clock by
Edward John Dent.
Bells The tower contains a chime of 15 bells all cast by
Charles and George Mears of Whitechapel in 1844, with a mechanism that can play
God Save the King,
The Roast Beef of Old England,
Rule Britannia! and
Psalm 104.
Murals . From 1892, twenty-four scenes from London's history were painted on the first-floor walls by artists including
Sir Frederic Leighton,
Sir Frank Brangwyn and
Stanhope Forbes. The
murals run as a sequence: •
Phoenicians trading with the early Britons on the coast of Cornwall by
Sir Frederic Leighton (1895) •
Alfred the Great repairing the walls of the City of London by
Frank O. Salisbury (1912) •
William the Conqueror granting a Charter to the Citizens of London by
John Seymour Lucas (1898) •
William II building the Tower of London by Charles Goldsborough Anderson (1911) •
King John sealing Magna Carta by
Ernest Normand (1900) • ''Sir Henry Picard, Master of the Vinters' Company entertaining Kings of England, France, Scotland Denmark & Cyprus'' by
Albert Chevallier Tayler (1903) •
Sir Richard Whittington dispensing his Charities by
Henrietta Rae (1900) •
Philip the Good presenting the charter to the Merchant Adventurers by
Elijah Albert Cox (1916) •
Henry VI Battle of Barnet 1471, the Trained Bands marching to the support of Edward IV by John Henry Amschewitz (1911) • ''Reconciliation of the Skinners & Merchant Taylors' Companies by Lord Mayor Billesden, 1484'' by
Edwin Austin Abbey (1904) • ''The Crown offered to Richard III at Baynard's Castle'' by
Sigismund Goetze (1898) • ''The Foundation of St Paul's School, 1509'' by
William Frederick Yeames (1905) •
The Opening the first Royal Exchange by Queen Elizabeth I by
Ernest Crofts (1899) •
Charles I demanding the Five Members at the Guildhall, 1641–42 by
Solomon Joseph Solomon (1897) •
The Great Fire of London, 1666 by
Stanhope Forbes (1899) •
Founding of the Bank of England, 27 July 1694 by
George Harcourt (1904) •
Nelson leaving Portsmouth, 18 May 1803 by
Andrew Carrick Gow (1903) •
Destruction of the Second Royal Exchange in 1838 by
Stanhope Forbes (1899) •
Opening of the Royal Exchange by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, 28 October 1844 by
Robert Walker Macbeth (1895) • ''Women's Work in the Great War, 1914–1918'' by
Lucy Kemp-Welch (1922) • ''Blocking of Zeebrugge Waterway, St George's Day, 23 April 1918'' by
William Lionel Wyllie (1920) •
Their Majesties King George V & Queen Mary visiting the Battle Districts in France, 1917 by
Frank O. Salisbury (1917) • ''National Peace Thanksgiving Service on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, 6 July 1919'' by
Frank O. Salisbury (1919) •
Modern Commerce by Sir
Frank Brangwyn (1906) With the outbreak of the
Second World War, trading at the Royal Exchange virtually ended. At war's end, the building had survived
the Blitz, albeit with some near misses. ==Modern use==