ROYAL EXCHANGE. 



by Mr. Jerman for rebuilding the 

 Exchange, on the 9th of December, 1667, 

 resolved "that porticos should be built on 

 the north and south sides, according as his 

 Majesty desires, and as are described in the 

 aforesaid draft ; and that houses shall be 

 built on the heads of the said porticos, 

 and shops underneath." Mr. Malcolm has 

 collected many particulars relating to this 

 nobie edifice, in his " Londinium Redivi- 

 vum," and amongst others, the following 

 extract from a book produced to a Com- 

 mittee of the House of Commons, 1747. 

 " The said book begins the 27th of Octo- 

 ber, 1666, and ends July 12, 1676 ; and it 

 thereby appears that the total expense of 

 rebuilding the Royal Exchange amounted 

 unto 58,962/. ; the Company's moiety 

 whereof was the sum of 29,481/. To de- 

 fray which expense, it appeared the Com- 

 pany were obliged to borrow money upon 

 their seal, insomuch that, in the year 1682, 

 they had taken up money on their bonds, 

 on account of the trust of Sir Thomas 

 Gresham, to the amount of 45-79S/," It 

 appeared, on this occasion, from the evi- 

 dence of a Mr. Crumpe, " that the com- 

 pany had hitherto contributed equally 

 with the city in the repaying of the Roy- 

 al Exchange, and paying Sir Thomas 

 Gresham's lectures and charities ; and 

 that, in or about the year 1729, one of 

 the lecturers of Sir Thomas Gresham filed 

 a bill, in Chancery, against the City of 

 London, and the Mercer's Company : to 

 answer which, it became necessary to 

 draw out and state an account between 

 the Mercer's Company, and Sir Thomas 

 Gresham's trust estates, as also between 

 the City and Company and the said estate; 

 and, accordingly, such accounts were 

 drawn up : and thereby it appears, that 

 there was due to the Mercer's Com- 

 pany, tor their moiety of the expense of 

 building the Royal Exchange, and other 

 payments up to that time, the sum of 

 100,659/. 18s. KM" Mr. Cawne, the then 

 Clerk of the Company of Mercers, pro- 

 duced a continuation of this account to 

 the Committee above mentioned, down 

 to 1745, when the principal and interest 

 amounted to the enormous sum of 

 142,885/. Is. Id. 



In the year 1767, it was represented to 

 the Legislature that essential repairs were 

 required in different parts of the Royal 

 Exchange, which procured a grant of 

 10,000/. and these were completed under 

 the direction of Mr. Robinson, surveyor, 

 who thought proper to rebuild the west 

 side. 



Bui-ing the time occupied in rebuilding 



the present structure, the merchants of 

 London transacted their business at 

 Gresham College; and the new building 

 was opened for that purpose, September 

 28, 1669: in 1703, the followin,- notice 

 appeared in the public papers : " An act 

 of the Lord Mayor and Court of Aider* 

 men is affixed at the Exchange, and other 

 places in this City, by which all persons 

 are prohibited coming upon the Royal 

 Exchange to do business before the hours 

 of twelve o'clock, and after the hour of 

 two, till evening change. Wherein it is 

 further enacted, that for a quarter of an 

 hour before twelve the Exchange bell 

 shall ring, as a signal of change time ; 

 and shall also begin to ring a quarter of an 

 hour before two, at which time the change 

 shall end : and all persons shall quit it, up- 

 on pain of being prosecuted to the utmost, 

 according to law. That the gates shall then 

 be shut up, and continue so till evening 

 change time; which shall be from the hours 

 of six to eight from Lady-day till Michael- 

 mas, and from Michaelmas to Lady-day 

 from the hours of four to six ; before and 

 after which hours the bell shall ring as 

 above said. And it is further enacted, 

 that no persons shall assemble in compa- 

 nies, as stock-jobbrrs, &c. either in Ex- 

 change Alley, or places adjacent, to stop 

 up and hinder the passage from and to 

 the respective houses thereabouts, under 

 pain of being immediately carried before 

 the Lord Mayor, or other Justice of the 

 Peace, and prosecuted." 



There are at present numerous shops 

 encircling the Royal Exchange, but they 

 are confined to the ground floor, under 

 the arches or piazza ; many years past the 

 upper rooms were used for this purpose, 

 and it has been said to the amount of two 

 hundred. Lloyd's Coffee House now 

 occupies the greater part of the upper. 

 story. 



Before the present unhappy war, the 

 Royal Exchange of London presented an 

 epitome of the world, where specimens 

 of all the varieties of man might be seen 

 and studied ; in which point of view it 

 was equally valuable to the philosopher, 

 as to the merchant for his extended pur- 

 suits, nor was it less useful to the ob- 

 server of the manners of different na- 

 tions ; now, unfortunately, neither the 

 philosopher, the observer of manners, 

 nor the merchant, finds it a place of its 

 original attraction. The frantic decrees 

 against the commerce of England, on the 

 continent, and the necessary reprisals of 

 our own government, are the causes 

 which have rendered the area of the 



