The first exchange building in London was built from 1566 to 1567 on this site by Flemish workers on the model of the Stock Exchange at Anvers, on the initiative of a rich Bishopsgate haberdasher Thomas Gresham (1519-1579). The building burnt down in 1666. Queen Victoria opened the present Royal Exchange in neo-classical style in 1844. Its business stopped in 1939. The courtyard reproduces the early exchange courtyard and retains the paving.

Designed by Sir Thomas Colcutt, this Neo-Baroque building has a facade with columns and turrets, topped with a gilded weathervane in the shape of a boat. Its Art Nouveau decor includes naval construction tools and friezes with maritime motifs.

A grass-covered hill in the 16C, in the 17C Highgate attracted rich merchants who built their summerhouses there. The village, centred on Pond Square and High Street, still retains its pastoral character.

An old lift allows access to a re-creation of an underground station during the Second World War. A video regularly interrupted by the sound of an underground train, shows scenes filmed at the time. The nostalgic exhibition brings back memories of the fashions, rationing, air raids, shelters, evacuation, women working in the factories, the life of Winston Churchill and the damage caused by the bombing.