Plantation Place is a large office development in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, taking its name from a previous 'Plantation House', once the world's recognised centre of the tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 trade.

It is currently the headquarters of RSA Insurance Group and QBE Insurance

QBE Insurance

QBE Insurance Group Limited is an Australian based general insurance provider, providing insurance services mainly to the Asia Pacific region, but also America and Europe . It has offices in 45 countries...

 in addition to being the main UK office for Accenture

Accenture

Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...

, and occupies almost an entire block of approximately 10,200 square metres, bounded by Fenchurch Street

Fenchurch Street

Fenchurch Street is a street in the City of London home to a number of shops, pubs and offices. It links Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street to the west. To the south of Fenchurch Street and towards its eastern end is Fenchurch Street railway station...

, Mincing Lane

Mincing Lane

Mincing Lane is a one-way street in the City of London linking Fenchurch Street southward to Great Tower Street.Its name is a corruption of Mynchen Lane - so-called from the tenements held there by the Benedictine 'mynchens' or nuns of St Helen's Bishopsgate .It was for some years the world's...

, Eastcheap

Eastcheap

Eastcheap is a street in the City of London. Its name derives from cheap, market, with the prefix "East" distinguishing it from the other former City of London market of Westcheap . In medieval times Eastcheap was the City's main meat market, with butchers' stalls lining both sides of the street...

 and Rood Lane.

Constructed in 2004, the building is 68 m high and was built on the remains of the old Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 colony of Londinium

Londinium

The city of London was established by the Romans around AD 43. It served as a major imperial commercial centre until its abandonment during the 5th century.-Origins and language:...

, burned down by Boudica

Boudica

Boudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....

 in AD 60. A hoard of gold coins from the 2nd century were found on the site. It is set to be dwarfed by the proposed 160m skyscraper known as the Walkie Talkie at 20 Fenchurch Street

20 Fenchurch Street

20 Fenchurch Street is a 160 metre , 36-storey skyscraper currently under construction in the City of London. It has been nicknamed the Walkie Talkie. Costing over £200m, it is designed by the Uruguayan born architect Rafael Viñoly and will feature a highly distinctive, top-heavy form which...

.

The complex contains almost 3,000 m² of roof gardens, offering stunning views of London's financial district. In September 2004, these roof gardens were made open to the public as part of the Open House London

Open House London

Open House London is an organisation which promotes appreciation of architecture by the general public. It organises tours, lectures, educational projects for children and so on, but it is best known for Open House Weekend, a two-day event which takes place on one weekend each September throughout...

 weekend.

The previous building on the site was Plantation House (built in 1935) and served the commodities markets, especially for tea and rubber. It was the home of the London Metal Exchange

London Metal Exchange

The London Metal Exchange is the futures exchange with the world's largest market in options, and futures contracts on base and other metals. As the LME offers contracts with daily expiry dates of up to three months from trade date, along with longer-dated contracts up to 123 months, it also...

 until 1994.

See also

• 20 Fenchurch Street
  20 Fenchurch Street
  20 Fenchurch Street is a 160 metre , 36-storey skyscraper currently under construction in the City of London. It has been nicknamed the Walkie Talkie. Costing over £200m, it is designed by the Uruguayan born architect Rafael Viñoly and will feature a highly distinctive, top-heavy form which...
  
   - a neighbouring office block
• St Margaret Pattens
  St Margaret Pattens
  St Margaret Pattens is a Church of England church in the City of London, located on Eastcheap near the Monument. The dedication is to St. Margaret of Antioch.-History:...
  
   - a neighbouring church
• Tall buildings in London
• Broadgate Estates - The property management company that maintains the building.