The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in the Saturday Market, Beverley,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England. The structure, which was commissioned as a

corn exchange A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...

and is now used as a department store, is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The site occupied by the corn exchange was formerly an open meat market from the 14th century. A butchers' shambles, designed by Samuel Smith, was erected on the site in 1753. Part of it was converted into a corn exchange in 1825, and another part of it was converted into a butter market in 1834, but, in the early 1880s, Beverley Corporation decided to commission a new structure on the same site. The current structure was designed by Samuel Musgrave in the Italianate style, built in red brick and

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

and was completed in 1886. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto the Saturday Market. The central bay featured two round headed openings with

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

s and keystones flanked by

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. There was a

Diocletian window Diocletian windows, also called thermal windows, are large semicircular windows characteristic of the enormous public baths (''thermae'') of Ancient Rome. They have been revived on a limited basis by some neo-classical architecture, classical rev ...

with an architrave and a keystone on the first floor. The outer bays were fenestrated by tall

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a c ...

s with pediments and flanked, on the outside, by

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...

pilasters surmounted by ball

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

s. At roof level there was a central panel inscribed with the words "Corn Exchange AD 1886", flanked by scrolls and surmounted by a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

with the borough

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

in the tympanum. 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. In this context, the building was briefly used as a primary school between 1904 and 1906 and was then converted for use as a cinema showing

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s, operated Ernest Symmons and known as the "Beverley Picture Playhouse", in 1911. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, part of the building was requisitioned for use as a decontamination centre in the event of gas attacks. It also hosted fund raising events in support of Warship Week in 1942. The building continued to operate as a cinema under the management of the Symmons family until September 1963 when it closed. It re-opened again under the management of a film society in 1972 and became a commercial cinema and events venue in April 1982 but, in the face of increased competition, closed again in 2003. After an extensive programme of works to convert the building for retail use, it re-opened as a Browns department store in March 2010. The conversion was highly commended for the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) National Building Excellence Awards in November 2010.

References

{{reflist Commercial buildings completed in 1886 Grade II listed buildings in the East Riding of Yorkshire Beverley Beverley

History

See also

References