Britain's Bourse, also known as the New Exchange, was a shopping arcade located on the

Strand, London The Strand (commonly referred to with a leading "The", but formally without) is a major street in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street, which is part of London's West End Theatre, West End theatreland, runs just over from Tra ...

opened by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

in 1609. It was demolished in 1737.

History

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

submitted a design, but these were not used. It was built by Sir

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612) was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury ser ...

. Building commenced on 10 June 1608. The site had previously been occupied by the stables of Durham House, now 52 to 64 Strand. Salisbury faced some opposition from shopkeepers who petitioned the Lord Mayor, and in July 1608 he drafted a response comparing complaints about his "handsome range" to objections that could have been raised in 1570 about the founding of Sir Thomas Gresham's

Exchange Exchange or exchanged may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Exchange (film), or ''Deep Trap'', 2015 South Korean psychological thriller * Exchanged (film), 2019 Peruvian fantasy comedy * Exchange (TV program), 2021 Sou ...

. The building was briefly known as the Salisbury Exchange, but was renamed when James I opened the building on 11 April 1609. He was accompanied by his queen,

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

, his son, later

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

and daughter Elizabeth, later

Queen of Bohemia This is a list of the royal consorts of the rulers of Bohemia. The first Duchess of Bohemia (''česká kněžna'') was St. Ludmila, while the first Queen of Bohemia (''česká královna'') was Świętosława of Poland. Some of them were (li ...

. The opening included a theatrical production by

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

, '' The Entertainment at Britain's Burse''.''The Entertainment at Britain’s Burse'', Cambridge Edition of Ben Jonson
/ref> It primarily catered for women providing not only fashionable clothes and millinery, but also ornaments and items of furniture. However it also included several bookshops. Along with the Royal Exchange it provided one of the major shopping centres in London, particularly after the

Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdina ...

visited the premises during his visit to England in 1669 and described the building: :"The building has a facade of stone, built after the Gothic style, which has lost its colour from age and become blackish. It contains two long and double galleries, one above the other, in which are distributed in several rows great numbers of very rich shops of drapers and mercers filled with goods of every kind, and with manufactures of the most beautiful description. These are for the most part under the care of well-dressed women, who are busily employed in work, although many are served by young men called apprentices."

References

Retail buildings in London Demolished buildings and structures in London Shopping arcades in England {{London-struct-stub