The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in Woodmarket, Kelso, Scottish Borders, Scotland. The structure, which accommodates a health clinic, a dental practice and an online publisher, is a Category B listed building.

History

In the mid-18th century, a group of local businessmen decided to form a company to finance and commission a new corn exchange for the town. The site they selected was on the southeast side of Woodmarket, an area where merchants originally traded in timber. The foundation stone for the new building was in July 1855. It was designed by David Cousin in the Jacobethan style, built in rubble masonry with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone dressings at a cost of £3,000 and was opened in 1856. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Woodmarket. The central bay featured an arched doorway with an archivolt and a square hood mould on the ground floor and a five-part mullioned and transomed window on the first floor. The outer bays were fenestrated by tri-partite mullioned windows on the ground floor, by

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...

s on the first floor and by bi-partite mullioned windows in the gables above. Internally, the principal room was the main hall, which was long and wide, and featured a

hammerbeam roof A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams pr ...

and a gallery. The building was initially very popular and the directors claimed that "more grain is sold by the grower, in Kelso Corn Exchange, than any other building in Great Britain". However, 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. Instead, it was used as a venue for agricultural worker hiring fairs where labours could seek work. It accommodated a cinema known as the "Corn Exchange Picture House", which showed silent films from 1917 until shortly before the Second World War. After the war, it became a popular events venue: performers included the

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

, '' The Move'', in June 1967 and the

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band, '' The Troggs'', in October 1967. By the 21st century, the use of the building had changed again with occupants comprising a health centre known as "Kelso Health & Wellness", a dental practice known as "Gentle Touch", and an online publisher known as "Texthouse".

References

{{reflist Commercial buildings completed in 1856 Category B listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Kelso Kelso, Scottish Borders

History

See also

References