Lot Essay
The present work is a view of the Royal Exchange building at the junction of Threadneedle Street and Cornhill. Plans for the bourse began in 1565 and Queen Elizabeth I granted it royal status in 1570. Fires destroyed the first and second Exchanges, the third and present building of classical design with a massive portico and eight Corinthian columns was designed by Sir William Tite and opened by Queen Victoria in 1844. The Exchange ceased its original function in 1939.