London

Old Jewry: one of London's oldest streets

Goldsmiths Hall, Foster Lane
This grand building , designed by Philip Hardwick in the 1820s, is the third incarnation of the HQ of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, which has been on this site since 1339. Its size and prominence reflect the historical importance both of gold and of this livery company, which always wielded great power. The word ‘hallmark’ dates back to the fifteenth century, when London craftsmen were required to come to the Hall in person to have their articles tested. Goldsmiths still perform a ceremonial examination of the coins of the realm each February – they verify that the Royal Mint is using metal that complies to legal standards. Goldsmiths were bankers, too: up until the mid-eighteenth century banks were far from secure, so you had to be careful who you gave your money to. Feature continues

Goldsmiths, on the other hand, were famously respectable and trustworthy, and they had the safest premises in London – Pepys was among those who chose to bank with them. You can’t normally get access to the fabulous marble interior, but there are open days when you can join a guided tour – the next is on November 13. Call 020 7332 1456 to book.

Old Jewry, EC2
This ancient street – which once gave its name to a whole area of the City – dates back to the time before the expulsion of Jews in the Middle Ages. Jews had been encouraged to come to London by William the Conqueror, as Christians considered money-lending a sin, but still needed loans to finance business. Over the next century these Jews became wealthy and powerful, much to the annoyance of their debtors. More than a century of anti-Semitic persecution – ranging from punitive taxes to a full-blown massacre of Jews in York in 1190 – culminated in Edward I’s banishment of all Jews from England in 1290. These days, Old Jewry is a fairly nondescript City street, home to a branch of Brown’s.

The Royal Exchange, Threadneedle St

Royal Exhange, Threadneedle St
Set up in 1566 by Sir Thomas Gresham to be a meeting place for merchants that would rival the then-powerful Antwerp market, this site was named the Royal Exchange by Elizabeth I in 1571. The Exchange has been destroyed by fire twice; the current building dates back to 1842, and now houses a luxury mall with shops including Gucci, Cartier and, um, Agent Provocateur.

Old Stock Exchange, Old Broad St
In 1698, the Royal Exchange threw all the stock brokers out of its building for rowdiness. After a spell at Jonathan’s Coffee House (see Change Alley) in 1773, they moved into their own building in Sweeting’s Alley and from there, in 1802, to Old Broad Street, where they stayed – though not in the same building – until 2004. The rather ugly Stock Exchange Tower is being redeveloped, while the LSE – now entirely computer-based – quietly plies its trade in Paternoster Square.

Jamaica Wine House, St Michael’s Alley, off Cornhill
Set within a labyrinth of medieval courts and alleys, this old coffee house – now a pub – has historic links with the sugar trade and slave plantations of the West Indies. And with Turkey: a plaque on the wall reads ‘Here stood the first London Coffee House at the sign of the Pasqua Rosee’s Head 1652.’ Pasqua Rosee was a Ragusian manservant brought to London from Ottoman Smyrna by his former employer, Mr Daniel Edwards, a ‘Turkey merchant’ who dealt in coffee and other exotic goods. Rosee fell out with Edwards and went into business with another ex-servant, Edwards’ coachman. They opened a coffee house in 1652, known in some accounts as The Turk’s Head. The Jamaica as it stands now is a very pretty, low-rise building made of crumbling red brick and stone. Sausage and mash will set you back £8.50.