The Royal Exchange was the “bourse” or primary place for raising financial investment in Londonfrom 1567 to 1939. The idea of creating such an institution circulated in the City of London from the early 16th century whilst Antwerp was the still the dominant European bourse and the place to which English merchants went to raise capital. Such was Antwerp’s dominance that the Company of English Merchant Adventurers had their headquarters there, rather than in London. In the 1520s, a member of this company, Sir Richard Gresham, proposed a similar building for London, but his project failed to attract the support of the King. In the 1560s it fell to his son, Sir Thomas Gresham, to pursue an idea that was gaining support from London merchants and from the increasing hostility between…

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Citation: Clark, Robert. "London's Royal Exchange". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 January 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19358, accessed 23 November 2024.]