The new London Exchange.
Thebank of England is the focus of the money operations of London. It is situated in that part of the metropolis called the city, about a mile and a half to the east of Temple Bar.
This bank is an immense quadrangular building, with a large court in the centre. The number of rooms in the edifice are numerous, and a person without a guide would inevitably get lost amid its labyrinth of staircases, passages, rooms, entries, and offices. During the business hours of the day, there are constant streams of people passing in and out of this great temple of mammon.
The number of officers and clerks employed in the bank is very great, and, in some of the rooms, you see them shovelling heaps of gold, almost as freely and as abundantly as if it were Indian corn. Near the bank is the post-office, which is also an immense edifice. The number of persons at work within the bustle and activity that are exhibited there, the marking of parcels, the tumbling about of mail-bags, the running hither and thither, seem almost to render the place a city in itself.
Near these two great buildings are the offices of the chief bankers of London, who receive and pay out immense sums of money at their counters every day. All the streets in this region are mainly occupied by persons who are engaged in the great money operations of the metropolis. Nothing can exceed the bustle and activity of this part of the city. The streets are thronged with cabs, coaches, omnibuses, and other vehicles, and with a ceaseless flood of people, passing rapidly on, as if they thought the world was speedily coming to an end.
Laying the corner stoneLaying the corner stone of the new London Exchange.
Laying the corner stone of the new London Exchange.
Near to the bank was formerly the old Exchange, which was a four-sided building, in the court of which, merchants, bankers, and others in London, were accustomed to assemble for the purpose of transacting business. This court was quadrangular, and, on the four sides, were the emblems of the four quarters of the globe. On that side where the emblems of Europe were, European business was transacted; on the Asiatic side, business relating to Asia was transacted; and so of the rest.
The time of assembly, in this Exchange, was usually from two to four o’clock. At these hours, you would here see a crowd of persons; and the amount of business transacted within this little square, in the space of a couple of hours, often amounted to several millions of pounds sterling.
For several years past, the opinion had prevailed, in London, that the old Exchange was small, inconvenient, and unworthy of the great commercial metropolis of the world. A scheme was, therefore, set on foot for erecting a new Exchange, which might at once be convenient, and suited, by its extent and magnificence, to satisfy the wants as well as the ambition of the great emporium of Britain.
The building has already been commenced, and considerable progress has been made in its construction. London has hundreds of edifices, any one of which would be an object of interest and curiosity, on account of its extent and magnificence, on our side of the Atlantic. But the new Exchange promises to rank among the very finest of the public buildings of London, both on account of its size and the beauty of its architecture.
The corner-stone of this fine structure was laid on the 17th of January, 1842, and appears to have been one of the most imposing ceremonies, of the kind, that ever took place. An immense crowd of people was assembled, among whom were many persons of the highest distinction. The performances took place beneath a tent, in which there were about fifteen thousand persons.
This tent was one hundred feet high, and three hundred feet in circumference. Around it were eleven tiers of seats, gradually rising to the height of twenty-four feet. These seats, as well as the floor and sides of the tent, were covered with crimson drapery. It was lighted by a magnificent chandelier, containing about fifty gas lights. In the centre of the tent was an open space, in which the foundation-stone, an immense block of free-stone, was suspended. In front of it were two chairs of state, one for Prince Albert and the other for the lord mayor.
All things being ready, Prince Albert deposited, in an excavation in the stone, a glass bottle, containing a variety of coins, both gold, silver, and copper. A glass brick was also deposited, with an English inscription encrusted thereon. These were covered with a stone, and, the prince applied the level to see that it was true. Some mortar was put into the crevices, and his royal highness smoothed it down, in a very workmanlike manner, with a silver trowel, exquisitely fabricated for the purpose. An enthusiastic cheer rung through the assembly, to attest the appreciation of the skill displayed by the prince. The stone was lowered to its bed, and the mighty pageant was over.
Imperial JossImperial Joss.
Imperial Joss.