Know about the Royal Exchange built by Sir Thomas Gresham, a gathering place for international merchants in London
An overview of the first Royal Exchange, opened by Sir Thomas Gresham in London in 1570. The exchange was primarily a place for merchants and traders to do business with each other.
Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library; CC-BY-SA 4.0 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
-
Eyepress Video/ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump announced Maduro's capture by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Actor. Comedian. Wartime leader. Who is Volodymyr Zelensky?
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
-
© UK Parliament Education Service (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Examining the draft Declaration of Rights and the Bill of Rights (both 1689), in the United Kingdom Parliamentary Archives, London.
-
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © David Clarke/Dreamstime.comTake a video tour of London.
-
© Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about rational choice theory, as it applies to economic policy.
-
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Scenes of the financial district of the City of London, beginning with a street-level look at the Royal Exchange and ending with a view from a glass elevator of the Lloyds Building.
Transcript
LINDA LEVY PECK: The Royal Exchange was built by Sir Thomas Gresham and opened in 1570. He built it, modeled it, on the Antwerp Bourse, and he needed to build it so that there would be a gathering place for international merchants in London.
This was a place where international merchants could come together, could speak together, exchange news of ships that were coming in, and could buy and sell goods. They gathered together in the courtyard, as you can see, in Wenceslaus Hollar's print. But upstairs, he also added boutiques.
Now, this was new. There had, of course, been shops before. But those shops were shops that were in the front of workshops. What was new in the Royal Exchange were that these were retail shops. One of the first shoppers was Queen Elizabeth herself, who opened the Royal Exchange.
At the time, there weren't enough shops that were ready to go. And so Sir Thomas Gresham had to keep moving the goods in the Royal Exchange around to make it appear that there were sufficient shops because there just weren't enough shops fully prepared for the Queen to see. But that did not matter. The Queen was so pleased with the new set of boutiques that she allowed Sir Thomas to name the new space the Royal Exchange.
This was a place where international merchants could come together, could speak together, exchange news of ships that were coming in, and could buy and sell goods. They gathered together in the courtyard, as you can see, in Wenceslaus Hollar's print. But upstairs, he also added boutiques.
Now, this was new. There had, of course, been shops before. But those shops were shops that were in the front of workshops. What was new in the Royal Exchange were that these were retail shops. One of the first shoppers was Queen Elizabeth herself, who opened the Royal Exchange.
At the time, there weren't enough shops that were ready to go. And so Sir Thomas Gresham had to keep moving the goods in the Royal Exchange around to make it appear that there were sufficient shops because there just weren't enough shops fully prepared for the Queen to see. But that did not matter. The Queen was so pleased with the new set of boutiques that she allowed Sir Thomas to name the new space the Royal Exchange.