The market-place, where the dealing in this mass of securities is carried on, is by no means of imposing appearance from the exterior point of view. Of all the Stock Exchanges, Bourses, and Bolsas throughout the country and the world, the London Stock Exchange makes, perhaps, the least exterior show. The tourist often seeks it in vain, and thousands of Londoners pass it every day without knowing that behind the suites of offices, with their Portland-stone walls relieved by granite, is hidden the mighty market-place. Yet, for its purposes, the Stock Exchange, or the House, as the members and even the Rules affectionately term it, could not be better situated. It is in the very heart of the City. Its west door, the Capel Court entrance, which is the most important by tradition though not by usage, faces the eastern end of the Bank of England, and the building occupies the greater part of the triangle which has Bartholomew Lane for its base, Throgmorton Street for its north side, and Threadneedle Street and Old Broad Street for its south side, the apex of the triangle being formed by the junction of Throgmorton Street and Old Broad Street.
As to the interior, it is without form, though anything but void in business hours. There is no trace of the triangle to the insider, the boundary lines being broken where the surrounding offices abut, or where they have been swept away as opportunity offered for the extension of the Stock Exchange proper. Although the site, including the surrounding offices, occupies some 40,000 square feet, the Stock Exchange itself is only about half that in floor area. The whole design of the interior architecture, Italian in style, is marked by a good deal of solidity. The walls are for the most part covered with marble, the peculiar veining of which suggested the title, Gorgonzola Hall, by which the Stock Exchange is sometimes known. Massive pillars, also marble, abound. The floor is of teak, oak, which was formerly used, having been found of insufficient durability to stand the wear and tear of the members' feet. The feature of the interior architecture, however, is the dome, 70 feet in diameter and 100 feet high, covering the central octagonal area. Beneath the Stock Exchange proper, and extending to almost the same area, is the Settling or Checking Room, the walls of which are lined with oak panelling and glazed tiles.