In 1698, it was used by John Castaing to post the prices of stocks and commodities, the first evidence of systematic exchange of securities in London. That year, dealers expelled from the Royal Exchange for rowdiness migrated to Jonathan's (as well as to Garraway's Coffee-House).
It was the scene of a number of critical events in the history of share trading, including the South Sea Bubble and the panic of 1745. It was destroyed by fire in 1748, and rebuilt. In 1761 a club of 150 brokers and jobbers was formed to trade stocks. The club built its own building in 1773 in Sweeting's Alley, which was dubbed the New Jonathan's, but was renamed the Stock Exchange (now officially called the London Stock Exchange).
The original Jonathan's served as the home of a lottery office until it was destroyed by fire in 1748.