SIR THOMAS GRESHAM

The Cloth Trade

In the 14^thC King Edward III encouraged Flemish weavers to move to England. By the end of the 16^thC, the export of raw wool had virtually ceased. The country had moved from importing finished woollen goods and exporting resources to exporting finished items and importing raw materials. The efforts of Sir Thomas Gresham transferred the principal cloth market from Antwerp to London. As the trade became of greater national importance so it became increasingly concentrated in London. The City's merchants were able to generate capital that was used to equip long-range expeditions to develop the new overseas mercantile routes.

Gresham College

Sir Thomas Gresham endowed Gresham College. The institution was to employ concurrently seven professors to lecture in Latin and English on divynitye, astronomy, musicke, geometry, law, physicke, and rethoricke . In 1596 the knight's widow died and his house in Broad Street, Bishopsgate, became the first home of the College. The following year the inaugural lectures were delivered.

In 1768 the Broad Street house was pulled down. The lectures were then delivered in a room above the Royal Exchange. In 1843 the institution moved to a new building in Gresham Street.

In 1984 the College was reconstructed as an independent body. Both the Corporation of the City of London and the Mercers Company are represented upon its governing body. Since 1991 the Gresham lectures have been delivered at Barnard's Inn (1913) between mid-October and mid-June. The discourses are now no longer delivered in Latin.

Location: Barnard s Inn Hall, 23-24 Holborn, EC1N 2JA (blue, turquoise)

25 Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HN (orange, red)

Website: www.gresham.ac.uk

The Royal Exchange

The Royal Exchange building (1844) and its predecessors housed a variety of City organisations and enterprises.

In 1509 the English Merchant Adventurers received their royal charter. They established their headquarters in Antwerp. In 1552 Gresham was appointed as the royal agent at Antwerp. He and his close associate Richard Clough determined to create, at the former s expense, a building in London that would house a body that would operate like the Antwerp Bourse. The merchant s intent was probably reinforced by the 1564 death of his only son. In 1567 the building was completed. In large part, it was constructed out of materials that had been imported from the Low Countries.

The Exchange was opened by Queen Elizabeth I in 1570. On his death, Gresham left a life interest in the building to his wife (d.1596). Thereafter, it was owned jointly by the City Corporation and by the Mercers Company, of which Gresham had been a member.

The original Royal Exchange burned down during the Great Fire of 1666. It was rebuilt. The second Exchange building was demolished in 1838. The present structure was designed by Sir William Tite.

Location: The Royal Exchange, EC3V 3LR (purple, blue)

Website: www.theroyalexchange.co.uk

David Backhouse 2024