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Peckham Rye: Exchange

The entrance to the privileged precincts of the Stock Exchange is called Capel Court, because it marks the residence of Sir William Capel, Lord Mayor of London in the year 1504. The term Exchange owes its origin to the French echanger, to trade, to barter. The object of the original Royal Exchange, founded by Sir Thomas Gresham in London Churches and Buildings. 66 1506 and opened by Queen Elizabeth amid sundry public rejoicings over the event (which accounts for the prenomen Royal"), January 31, 1571, was to provide a convenient place where the merchants, bankers, and brokers of the City could meet throughout the day for the transaction of business. The Stock Exchange is the great money mart of the world [see STOCK in the article "MONEY "].

The Bankers' Clearing House, in Lombard Street, is the establishment where all cheques, drafts, and bills drawn upon the various bankers are sorted, distributed, and balanced up. The Railway Clearing House, adjoining Euston Railway Station, is a similar establishment devoted to the adjustment of the value represented by the tickets issued by the different Railway Companies.

In conclusion, the title of Mansion House, though somewhat suggestive of tautology, may be accepted as denoting the house of all other houses, since it is the official residence of the Lord Mayor.