ABSTRACT
In the course of the twelve months from October 1844 to October 1845 a great number and variety of stock exchanges were formed in twelve towns and cities in England. from Bristol in the south to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north. with Yorkshire claiming the greatest number. They ranged from reasonably formally constituted stock exchanges to the "marts for trafficking in stocks and shares" so roundly condemned by one contemporary observer. Only five exchanges survived the collapse of share prices in the autumn of 1845 to become permanent institutions; the markets in seven centres disappeared although in four of them stock exchanges were formed at the end of the century.
