Editing Thomas Gresham (section)

===Founding of the Royal Exchange===
In 1565 Gresham made a proposal to the [[City of London]]'s [[Court of Aldermen]] to build, at his own expense, a [[Exchange (organized market)|bourse]] or [[exchange (organized market)|exchange]] &ndash; what became the [[Royal Exchange (London)|Royal Exchange]], modelled on the [[The Belgian bourse of Antwerp|Antwerp bourse]] &ndash; on condition that the [[Corporation of London|Corporation]] provided for this purpose a suitable location. In this proposal he seems to have had a good eye for his self-interest as well as for the general good of the City's merchants, for by a yearly rental of £700 obtained for the shops in the upper part of the building he received more than sufficient return for his trouble and expense.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

The foundation of the [[Royal Exchange, London|Royal Exchange]] is the background of [[Thomas Heywood]]'s play: ''[[If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody]] part 2'', in which a [[Lord]] extols the quality of the building when asked if he has ever seen "a goodlier frame":
{{blockquote|Not in my life; yet I have been in [[Venice]]... In the [[Rialto]] there, called [[St Mark's Basilica|Saint Mark]]'s; 'tis but a bauble, if compared to this. The nearest, that which most resembles this, is the great [[Exchange (organized market)|Burse]] in [[Antwerp]], yet no comparable either in height or wideness, the fair cellarage, or goodly shops above. Oh my [[Lord Mayor]], this Gresham hath much graced your City of London; his fame will long outlive him.<ref>Heywood, Thomas, ''The Dramatic Works of Thomas Heywood'', 6 volumes, ed. J. Payne Collier, London: The Shakespeare Society, 1851.</ref>}}