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Corn Exchange, Chichester

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Coordinates: 50°50′10″N 0°46′32″W / 50.8360°N 0.7756°W / 50.8360; -0.7756
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Corn Exchange
The Corn Exchange, East Street, Chichester
Map
General information
Town or cityChichester
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°50′10″N 0°46′32″W / 50.8360°N 0.7756°W / 50.8360; -0.7756
Current tenants
Construction started1833
Design and construction
Architect(s)George Draper
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameCorn Exchange
Designated5 July 1950
Reference no.1192106

The Corn Exchange (also the Exchange Cinema and the Granada Exchange) is a Grade II* listed building[1] in Chichester, West Sussex, England. Built in 1833, the building has also been used as a Granada cinema. It is currently leased to a number of companies, including Next and the Boston Tea Party café chain.

History

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In the late-1820s, a group of 70 corn merchants decided to form a private company, known as "Chichester Corn Exchange Limited", to finance and commission a corn exchange for the town: they each contributed between £25 and £250.[2] The new building was designed by local architect, George Draper,[2] and built on the corner of East Street and Baffin's Lane in Chichester between 1832 and 1833.[3] In 1835 the roof was found to be unsafe and the building was stated to be in danger of collapse; it was rebuilt and remodelled to a design by architect John Elliott the following year.[2][4]

Corn, wheat, oats and barley were commonly traded at the Corn Exchange,[2] and in 1899 wool fleeces were also recorded as being sold at auction at the Corn Exchange.[5] The Corn Exchange was set up to increase trade of goods, as local merchants were unwilling to sell small quantities of goods. They preferred to sell at least a bushel at a time.[6] The Corn Exchange also allowed merchants to sample goods before purchasing them.[5]

Blue plaque at the Corn Exchange.

The use of the building as a corn exchange declined significantly in the wake of the Great Depression of British Agriculture in the late 19th century.[7] However, from the 1880s, parts of the Corn Exchange were rented out as a cinema.[2][8] It was one of Chichester's first cinemas, and the Corn Exchange has a blue plaque commemorating this.[5] In 1922, the Corn Exchange became a full-time cinema,[9] and the following year, the cinema was purchased by London and District Cinemas.[2] In 1927, the cinema was renovated, and was renamed the Exchange Cinema. The Kid Brother was the first film shown at the renovated cinema.[9]

The company which had originally commissioned the corn exchange was wound up in 1948[10] and, that same year, Granada cinemas took over the Corn Exchange, and named it the Granada Exchange.[1][11] The Granada cinema closed in 1980. Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back was the last film shown at the Granada cinema.[9] The Corn Exchange was then left unused for six years, before being leased to McDonald's, who used it until 2004.[12]

Part of the Corn Exchange is currently leased to Next. In 2018, Next said that they were looking to close their Chichester Corn Exchange store.[13] Other companies that have been based in the Corn Exchange include the Boston Tea Party café chain,[14] a Grape Tree health food store, and two Indian restaurants.[15]

To the rear stood a three-storey corn store built of red and grey brick. This was modified and converted into offices in 1967. Another corn store designed in 1871 by architect John Elkington, this time of stone with brick dressings, was similarly converted in the early 1980s.[16]

Architecture

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The building is Greek Revivalist in style.[3] Across the front of the building are six Doric columns,[3][1] each of which weigh 3 tonnes[5] and are made of cast iron.[4] They form a "noble hexastyle portico" which projects on to the pavement and rests on six substantial stone bases.[4] There are four smaller columns behind it. These support a large pediment and decorative entablature which runs around the side elevations of the building.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Corn Exchange (1192106)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Chichester Corn Exchange". The Novium. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "A History of the County of Sussex". Victoria County History. 1935. pp. 71–82. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020 – via British History Online.
  4. ^ a b c Williamson, Elizabeth; Hudson, Tim; Musson, Jeremy; Nairn, Ian (2019). Sussex: West. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-300-22521-1.
  5. ^ a b c d MacDougall, Phillip (2018). A–Z of Chichester: Places-People-History. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445683416. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  6. ^ Report from the Select Committee on Agriculture: With the Minutes of Evidence Taken Before Them and an Appendix and Index. House of Commons. 1833. p. 475. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  7. ^ Fletcher, T. W. (1973). 'The Great Depression of English Agriculture 1873-1896' in British Agriculture 1875-1914. London: Methuen. p. 31. ISBN 978-1136581182.
  8. ^ MacDougall, Phillip (2009). Chichester Murders & Misdemeanours. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445627434. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  9. ^ a b c "Granada Chichester". Cinema Treasures. 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  10. ^ "No. 38410". The London Gazette. 21 September 1948. p. 5115.
  11. ^ Green, Alan H.J. (2015). Chichester in the 1960s. The History Press. ISBN 9780750963251. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Burgers to blouses: How Chichester's iconic Corn Exchange has changed over the years". Sussex World. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Next in Chichester looking to close". Chichester Observer. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Latest café chain bid for Chichester provokes anger". Chichester Observer. 6 October 2016. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Two curry houses and a health food store aim to open in Chichester". Chichester Observer. 7 September 2017. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  16. ^ a b Williamson, Elizabeth; Hudson, Tim; Musson, Jeremy; Nairn, Ian (2019). Sussex: West. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-300-22521-1.
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