ILLUSTRATED LONDON.

THE ROYAL-EXCHANGE.

A COMMERCIAL city destitute of an Exchange might be thought an improper residence for merchants; as as a parish without a church, for that of religious people. Our ancestors, however, judged otherwise; and the merchants of London traded for centuries without a rallying point, or place where men of business might find each other at certain hours, and where, abstracted from all other subjects, the conversation might turn wholly upon profit and loss.

It appears surprising that a place of commercial resort was not suggested long before the time of Queen Elizabeth, and that London did not rival other marts of commerce. For it appears, that even so late as the year 1531 the merchants met in Lombardstreet, exposed in the open air to all inclemencies of weather. For this a predisposition seems still to exist in the minds of London traders, since no accommodation has been provided against this exposure, even in the superb building which is but just finished for their use.

Sir Richard Gresham, during his sherievalty, wrote a letter to Sir Thomas Audley, Lord Privy Seal, complaining of this inconvenience, and acquainting him that certain houses might be purchased, and that on the ground on which they stood, a hand

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some house, for the use of the merchants, might be built; requesting his lordship to procure the interference of the King, Henry VIII. The expense was estimated at two thousand pounds, the half of which, Sir Richard believed, might be raised before he went out of office. His Majesty acquiesced in the proposal, and gave orders for erecting a burse at Leadenhall; but when it was ultimately put to the vote, the citizens themselves put their negative upon it.

What the father could not effect, the son happily accomplished. Sir Thomas Gresham, in 1564, proposed, that if the corporation would give him a piece of ground in a commodious situation, he would build an exchange at his own expense. This liberal offer being accepted, a piece of ground in Cornhill was cleared of houses, and in November, 1567, the whole was covered in with slates, and soon after finished. Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, visited it 1569, attended by her nobility, and caused the same to be proclaimed by sound of trumpet, The Royal Exchange.

By the will of Sir Thomas the building was jointly vested in two moieties; one to the mayor and commonalty of London, the other to the company of mercers.

Hence it was determined by

The great fire of London, in 1666, reduced the Royal Exchange, in common with many other buildings, to ashes. Sir Christopher Wren submitted a plan for the erection of another building, which was magnificent in design, but inexpedient, it was thought, from its greatness and expense. the city authorities that the new Exchange should be built on the old foundations, and that the pillars, arches, and roof should be modelled for the best advantage of the whole structure, according to the rules of art. On the 23rd of October, 1667, King Charles II. went to the Royal Exchange, and placed the base of

the pillar on the west side of the north entrance, and on the 28th of September, 1560, the Exchange was re-opened to the merchants.

The building was certainly very handsome, although not without one defect, having its principal front in Cornhill. Like its predecessor, however, it was doomed to perish by fire. On the night of Wednesday, the 10th of January, 1838, the astonished merchants and others hurried to the spot to witness a conflagration of a most magnificent character. Amidst the tumults of the populace, the shouts of the firemen, and the crash of the falling masonry, the bells in the tower began to play the popular air of “There's nae luck about the house," and then fell, one after the other, into the common ruin beneath.

Scarcely had this extensive and ruinous conflagration ceased, when the mayor and corporation began to make preparations for a new Exchange, upon an enlarged and improved plan. Proposals were issued for architectural competition, in order that a suitable design might be made; and after some little delay, that by William Tite, Esq., was approved, and in the short space of two years and a half the erection was finished. This magnificent structure being now complete, and subject to the gaze of every beholder, does not require a very minute description, more especially since we must again draw the attention of our readers to this building in a subsequent part of this work. The site of the new Exchange, though nearly the same as before, is enlarged, the extent from east to west being two hundred and ninety-three feet, the width of the east end, one hundred and seventy-five feet, and of the west ninety feet. The façade is towards the west, having a Corinthian portico of great beauty, the columns of which are fortyone feet high. The same order of architecture is maintained in

the pilasters of the other fronts. By the removal of the Bankbuildings a fine open area is made before the western front, in the centre of which stands an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, begun by Sir Francis Chantry, and finished by Mr. Weeks. In the centre of the quadrangle appropriated to the use of the merchants and traders, a pedestrian statue of her present Majesty has just been erected. The encaustic painting upon the walls and roofs of the piazzas which surround the quadrangle, well deserve special notice, but must be seen to be appreciated. The first stone of this truly noble edifice was laid by His Royal Highness Prince Albert, on the 17th of January, 1842; and the building, when finished, was opened with great pomp, October, 1844, by her gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. Long may this magnificent structure remain an ornament to the City of London!

THE CORN-EXCHANGE.

THE supply of a large city like London with provisions, though it may not create astonishment in a thinking mind, must necessarily be a subject of great interest. The price of provision, particularly that of bread, comes home to the feelings of every consumer of the article, especially if his means be small. Cheap bread is desired by the upper grades of society; how much more so by the humbler classes!

This subject has always been a source of considerable anxiety to our legislators, who, while they on the one hand have been desirous to protect the landlord and the farmer, have also on the other