The New Exchange was located in the Strand on the site of Durham House. West of Ivy Lane, which marked the border between the Duchy of Lancaster and Westminster, stood Durham House. Initially built for the bishops of Durham, the house was eventually owned by principal secretary to the monarch and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Sir Robert Cecil. Durham House became the site of Cecil's New Exchange, also named Britain's Burse by James I at the opening ceremony in 1609. A rival to the Royal Exchange in London, the New Exchange in Westminster drew London merchants outside the jurisdiction of the City where they could cater to the wealthy (Borer 157; Stone 96-97, 100, 103; Stow 2:400). -- Neil Baldwin, 2002