The Royal Exchange [Chapter 1, page 44] in London was founded in the 16th Century by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham. Gresham had been based in Antwerp as a royal agent. He saw that there was a magnificent Bourse (a stock market in a non-English-speaking country, especially France) in Antwerp, but there wasn’t one in his hometown. He proposed to build a building for the stock exchange at his own expense as long as the city provided the land. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, who still jointly own the freehold. The original foundation was ceremonially opened by Queen Elizabeth I, who granted it its “royal” title and a license to sell alcohol. The original Royal Exchange was modeled on the Bourse in Antwerp, the world’s oldest financial exchange. The exchange building has twice been destroyed by fire and subsequently rebuilt.
The present building was designed by Sir William Tite in the 1840s. Today the Royal Exchange contains bars, restaurants, luxury shops, and offices.
Traditionally, the steps of the Royal Exchange are the place where certain royal proclamations are read out by either a herald or a crier. These proclamations include the dissolution of parliament, the death or abdication of a monarch and the confirmation of the next monarch's accession to the throne by the Accession Council. (252 words)
In the novel Orlando, the Royal Exchange is mentioned on page 44, Chapter 1 when Orlando takes Sasha to London and “bought her whatever took her fancy in the Royal Exchange.”

Works Cited:
“Heritage." The Royal Exchange. https://www.theroyalexchange.co.uk/heritage/
“The Royal Exchange." British History Online. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol1/pp494-513