13 AUGUST 1927, Page 3

Last Saturday part of a six-storeyed building in Cornhill, facing

the Royal Exchange, collapsed. The collapse had been foreseen, and no one was injured. The owners of adjacent buildings have received warning under the London Building Act that their structures are also regarded as dangerous. Gaps have opened_ in the street, and there was temporarily great anxiety for several buildings, including the Royal Exchange itself. Weakness to foundations was evidently caused by the excavations for the extension of Lloyd's Bank. When the summonses under the Building Act were heard in Court there were some curious revelations. It appeared that the roadway was properly described as a " structure " and the summons was issued against the " owners of the structure," namely, the Corporation. It also appeared that though a summons had been issued against the owners of No. 22 Cornhill, No. 22 had long ceased to exist. The number had simply vanished.