The Royal Exchange: Gresham's Grasshopper
Why is it significant?
You are at Bank junction, where streets pour together from every direction. To your north, the blank, windowless wall of the Bank of England. To your south, the columns of Mansion House, home of the Lord Mayor.
Key Facts
| Place | The Royal Exchange: Gresham's Grasshopper |
|---|---|
| Address | Royal Exchange, Bank, London EC3V 3DG, United Kingdom |
| Geo Coordinates | 51.51340, -0.08790 |
| Part of Walk | London Burning: The Great Fire of 1666 and Wren's Phoenix City, from the Tower to St Paul's |
| Generated | Generated |
You are at Bank junction, where streets pour together from every direction. To your north, the blank, windowless wall of the Bank of England. To your south, the columns of Mansion House, home of the Lord Mayor. And in front of you, a great Greek temple front with eight columns and a crowd of carved figures in the pediment: the Royal Exchange.
The first exchange on this site was built by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham in the 1560s, modelled on the stock exchange of Antwerp, so that London's traders no longer had to do business in the street. Queen Elizabeth the First visited in 1571 and declared it the Royal Exchange. Look up at the weathervane on the tower: it is a golden grasshopper, the emblem of the Gresham family.
In September 1666 the Great Fire swept through it. Around the courtyard stood statues of the kings and queens of England, and one by one they crashed down from their niches into the flames. Pepys noted that only one statue was left standing: Sir Thomas Gresham's. Londoners took it as a sign that trade, at least, would survive.
It was rebuilt, and then, in January 1838, it burned down again. The story goes that as the flames reached the bell tower, the bells began to play a tune by themselves, a Scottish song with the line there's nae luck about the house. The building you see now was opened by Queen Victoria in 1844. And the grasshopper? It is said to have survived both fires, and it still turns in the wind above you.
After 1666 Wren drew up a plan to rebuild London from scratch, with wide avenues and grand squares radiating from this very spot. It was never built. Every landowner wanted his old plot back, so the city rose again on its medieval street plan, but in brick and stone. Now walk past Mansion House, and slip down the narrow street called Walbrook beside it.