5. THE ROYAL EXCHANGE
— Neoclassical monument to public commerce & public toilets —
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Open: Mon-Fri: 7AM-4PM
Admission: free
Walking through Leadenhall from northeast to southwest brings you back out onto Lime Street just yards from its intersection with Fenchurch Street. Turn right (west) on Fenchurch Street, which—after crossing Gracechurch Street—becomes Lombard Street. Stay with Lombard Street for about 300 yards, and you arrive at one of the City’s most complicated intersections, where no fewer than 7 streets converge at Bank Station (Underground and DLR). Here to your right, in the acute angle formed by Cornhill Street with Threadneedle Street, is the neo-classical edifice of the Royal Exchange.
The high Renaissance was at least as much about international trade and the emergence of a middle class as it was about the flowering of fine art and the rebirth of science. During the Tudor dynasty and especially during the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, Britain grew as a military and commercial power. London—one of Europe’s largest cities—took on a previously unknown importance as one of the world’s business centers. In 1565 Sir Thomas Gresham founded London’s Royal Exchange as a center where merchants and tradesman could do business. Queen Elizabeth I understood the importance such a marketplace meant to the developing British Empire, and presided over its opening.
When the 1666 Great Fire destroyed the Royal Exchange, it was replaced within three years. The current neo-classical building is the third Royal Exchange on the site, replacing the second version which itself was destroyed by fire in 1838. Appropriately, Queen Victoria consecrated the third Royal Exchange in 1844 at the height of the British Empire. The third incarnation of the Royal Exchange served for just under 100 years. The elegant building is now an upscale shopping mall best known for the large Conran Royal Exchange restaurant popular at noon and dinnertime. Statues of the presiding monarchs (Elizabeth I, Charles II, and Victoria) at the opening of the three Royal Exchanges are prominently displayed in the building’s interior.
A major contribution to modern business convenience is not celebrated with statuary at the Royal Exchange. In 1855 Britain’s first public toilets were installed in the triangular space outside the colonnaded portico. They were for men only, and, presumably, helped many a business deal reach a speedy completion. Today, modern WC’s for both genders are found inside the Royal Exchange.
PLUMBING HISTORY WAS MADE HERE!