File:Golden Grasshopper, Lombard Street, London-18712506323.jpg

English: Golden Grasshopper, Lombard Street. Sir Thomas Gresham (c. 1519 – 21 November 1579), sometimes called Thomas Gresham the Elder, was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I. The grasshopper is the crest above Gresham's coat of arms. It is used by Gresham College, which he founded, and can also be seen as the weathervane on the Royal Exchange in the City of London, which he also founded in 1565. The golden Grasshopper, is still resplendent outside number 68, Lombard Street. Having been inherited after Sir Thomas Gresham’s departure by successive occupants of the site, the sign was taken over by Edmund Backwell in 1662, beginning an unbroken chain of ownership by the firm which ultimately became Martins Bank. Martins remained at number 68 Lombard Street and used the grasshopper as its sign until its own acquisition by Barclays in 1969 – it is thought that this represents the longest continuous use of a business premises by any bank in the world.