Page 153 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - London

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3 Royal Exchange
EC3. Map 15 C2. 1 Bank.
∑ theroyalexchange.co.uk
Sir Thomas Gresham, an
Elizabethan merchant and
courtier, founded the Royal
Exchange in 1565 as a centre
for commerce of all kinds. The
original building was centred
on a vast courtyard where
merchants and tradesmen did
business. Queen Elizabeth I
gave it its royal title and it is still
one of the sites from which a
new monarch is announced.
Dating from 1844, this is the The façade of William Tite’s Royal Exchange of 1844
third splendid building on the
site since Gresham’s. stock office of 1793. Glittering 7 Old Bailey
The building now contains a gold bars (which you can EC4. Map 14 F1. Tel 020 7248 3277.
luxurious shopping centre with touch), silver­plated decoration 1 St Paul’s. Open 9:55am–12:40pm
designer stores such as Hermès and a Roman mosaic floor, & 1:55–3:40pm Mon–Fri (reduced
and Paul Smith, and an elegant which was discovered during times Aug; opening hours vary from
central bar and café. the rebuilding, are among the court to court). Closed Easter,
items on display, along with a Christmas, New Year, public hols. ^
unique collection of bank­ ∑ cityoflondon.gov.uk
notes. The museum illustrates
the work of the Bank and the This short street has a long
financial system. association with crime and
punishment. The new Central
Criminal Courts opened here in
5 St Mary-le-Bow 1907 on the site of the infamous
(Bow Church) Cheapside EC2. Map 15 and malodorous Newgate prison
A2. Tel 020 7248 5139. 1 St Paul’s, (on special days in the legal
Mansion House. Open 7:30am–6pm calendar judges still carry small
Mon–Wed, 7:30am–6:30pm Thu, posies to court as a reminder of
7:30am–4pm Fri. 5 weekdays (see those times). Across the road,
website for details). 8 by arrange­ the Magpie and Stump served
The Duke of Wellington (1884), opposite ment. 7 0 ∑ stmarylebow.co.uk “execution breakfasts” until 1868,
the Bank of England when mass public hangings
The church takes its name outside the prison gates were
4 Bank of England from the bow arches in the stopped. Today, when the courts
Museum Norman crypt. When Wren are in session, they are open
rebuilt the church (in 1670–80) to members of the public.
Bartholomew Lane EC2. after the Great Fire, he continued
Map 15 B1. Tel 020 7601 5545. this pattern through the arches
1 Bank. Open 10am–5pm Mon–Fri. on the steeple. The weather­
Closed public hols. 7 phone first.
= Films, lectures. vane, dating from 1674, is an
∑ bankofengland.co.uk enormous dragon.
The church was bombed in
The Bank of England was set 1941, leaving only the steeple
up in 1694 to raise money and two outer walls standing.
for foreign wars. It grew to It was restored in 1956–62,
become Britain’s central bank, when the bells were recast
and also issues currency notes. and rehung. Bow bells have
Sir John Soane (see pp140–41) significance for Londoners:
was the architect of the 1788 traditionally only those born
bank building on this site, but within their sound can claim
only the exterior wall of his to be true Cockneys.
design has survived. The rest
was destroyed in the 1920s
and 1930s when the building 6 St Paul’s
was enlarged. There is now
a reconstruction of Soane’s See pp152–5. Old Bailey’s rooftop Justice

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