Royal Exchange, City of London

This remarkable building, surrounded by the Bank of England, Mansion House and the Stock Exchange, was founded as 'a comely bourse for merchants to assemble upon' by the wealthy London mercer Sir Thomas Gresham.

The City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercer provided the land, both of whom still jointly own the freehold.

Richard Clough, who designed the building, oversaw the import of various materials from Antwerp, such as: glass, wood, slate and stone, which he paid for out of his own pocket.

So impressed was Queen Elizabeth I by Gresham's achievement that, on January 23, 1571, she visited it and declared, "It must be called the Royal Exchange."

In addition to its trading floor and offices, the original building also enjoyed an upper floor of over one hundred popular and lively small shops, modelled after the New Exchange in Antwerp.

After the Great Fire of 1666 the Royal Exchange was twice rebuilt. In 1667, King Charles II laid the foundation stone for a building designed by Edward Jerman. This building, opened in 1669, had a tall wooden tower built over the south entrance. Unfortunately, this fell into disrepair and, 1821, was replaced with a stone tower, designed by George Smith. On January 10, 1838, this building was also destroyed by fire. The blaze was so bright that it could be seen from Windsor, some 24 miles (39 km) away.

London's Drinking Fountains

In a bustling metropolis like London, it's easy to overlook the small, yet significant, historical markers scattered throughout the city. Among these are the numerous drinking fountains and animal water troughs, silent sentinels that tell a story of Victorian philanthropy, public health, and a bygone era before bottled water became ubiquitous.

Imagine London in the mid-19th century. The River Thames, while a vital artery for trade, was also a significant source of drinking water for many, often contaminated and leading to devastating outbreaks of cholera and other diseases. Access to clean, safe drinking water was a luxury, not a right, and for the working classes, it was a daily struggle. This pressing public health crisis spurred a wave of social reform, and a key initiative was the provision of free, clean drinking water for all. 

The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association, founded in 1859, became the driving force behind this movement. Their mission was simple: "to promote the erection of drinking fountains in the streets of London, and also of cattle troughs for the use of animals."

These fountains and troughs were more than just practical necessities; they were symbols of Victorian compassion and a commitment to public welfare. Funded by generous donations from individuals, charitable organizations, and even royalty, they sprung up in parks, market squares, and busy thoroughfares across the city.

Jamaica Wine House, City of London

Along St Michael's Alley, Cornhill, you will find this wonderful building called the Jamaica Wine House. It stands on the site of London's first coffee house, which, it turns out, was more than just a coffee house.

On what was part of the Cornhill Glebe land, land owned by the church to support a parish priest, the Jamaica Coffee House was established, by Pasqua Rosée. Pasqua Rosée was the servant of a merchant, named Daniel Edwards, who traded in Ottoman goods that included coffee. Edwards assisted Rosée in setting up the establishment to sell coffee, in 1652. This coffee house was one of the first places, in London, for people to experience coffee. 

Soon, the majority of its customers were concerned with trade in Jamaica, while financiers made up the rest. Not only was the coffee house used as a business address by traders, but also as a place where letters for Jamaica could be left and received.

The great Cornhill fire of 1748, which consumed over 100 houses, did 'but little damage' to the coffee house. 

In 1793 it was stated, in 'Roach's London Pocket Pilot or Stranger's Guide Through the Metropolis', that the best rum could be obtained at the 'Jamaica', and that 'one sees nothing but aquatic captains in the trade of that island'.

More Than Just a Statue to a Great Man

Greathead's tunnelling shield in action.

Across the road from the Bank of England, on Cornhill, there is a statue of a man, atop a tall plinth, which allows him to gaze down on to the street below. The man is wearing a fedora and appears to be holding some sort of map, giving him a kind of 'Indiana Jones' appearance. The man is James Henry Greathead, who was born in South African in 1844. 

So what is it about him that demands a statue on such a large plinth in this area of the City of London? 

Well. James Henry Greathead moved to England in 1859, where he studied under the civil engineer Peter W. Barlow. This was a great era for tunnel diggers, what with Marc Brunel and his son, Isambard, having tunnelled beneath the River Thames and created the first tunnel beneath a navigable waterway, in 1843.

Brunel had designed and patented an 'Iron Shield', for his tunnelling, which Greathead, along with Barlow, greatly improved upon. Their project would be London's second tunnel beneath the River Thames and was called, unsurprisingly, the Tower Subway, as it would carry 12 passengers along a narrow-gauge railway from Tower Hill to Tooley Street.

The tunnelling shield was an immediate success, considering that the majority of London's underground lines had been built with the 'cut-and-cover' method, up to this point.