The Corn Exchange and market house in
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England was built in 1834 by John Bowen and extended in 1875, by Charles Knowles. It has been designated as a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
The original market hall, which dates from 1791, is fronted by a circular portico with a domed roof with
Tuscan pillars.
[ The distinctive portico was added after the north and south sides of the corn market were demolished for road widening in 1825.
It was originally surrounded by railings to separate the livestock from the food produce. The railings were removed in 1895.
In front of the building is a statue of ]Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player
* Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer
* Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player
* Rob Blake (born 19 ...
who was born in the town. The statue was made in 1898 by F. W. Pomeroy
Frederick William Pomeroy (9 October 1856 – 26 May 1924) was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards Natu ...
and has since been repositioned to face down Cornhill.
See also
* 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 exchange. Such trade was common in towns ...
* Corn exchanges in England
Corn exchanges are distinct buildings which were originally created as a venue for corn merchants to meet and arrange pricing with farmers for the sale of wheat, barley, and other corn crops. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal ...
* Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural ...
References
{{reflist
Commercial buildings completed in 1834
Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor
Bridgwater