a for . It lies in the vicinity of the and the , in the heart of the . The market was formed in 1773 by several stockbrokers who had been doing business informally in neighbourhood coffeehouses. In 1801 a group of members raised money for the construction of a building in Capel Court, Bartholomew Lane, and rules for the exchange were established soon afterward; the rules subsequently have been amended several times. In 1973 the exchange merged with several regional stock exchanges in Great Britain, and in 1986 its operations were reorganized and an automated price-quotation system introduced.