27 Astonishing Things You Didn't Know About London
21. The Stock Exchange Was Originally A Coffee Shop
The London Stock Exchange has a long history going back over 300 years. Its origins start in a coffee shop of all places. The coffee shop in question was Jonathans, which opened its doors in 1680 near the modern Tube station, Bank. By 1690, the joint had become the required place for trading shares in the City of London, with the traders meeting there to peruse the latest financial news written up on chalkboards behind the bar. When the coffee house burnt down in 1748, the rich brokers immediately paid to rebuild the shop. The rebuilt Jonathans was later renamed the Stock Exchange in 1773. These days, the exchange is based in a much less interesting collection of office buildings. The coffee's probably not as good, either.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
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