Leicester Corn Exchange is a commercial building in the Market Place in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, England. The structure, which currently operates as a public house, is a grade II* listed building.

History

The first building on the site, known as The Gainsborough, which was built as a prison and law court with shops and dungeons below, was completed in 1509. It was replaced by another building, known as the New Gainsborough, which was built as a corn exchange, in 1748. The first floor of the building was used for magistrates' court hearings. The current building was originally commissioned as a single-storey market trading hall. It was designed by William Flint and completed in 1851. However, it was then extended by the addition of an extra floor to accommodate magistrates' court hearings, to a design by Frederick Webster Ordish in the neoclassical style, in brick with a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

finish, in 1855. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto the Market Place. It featured a prominent stone archway supporting a double-flight staircase providing access to a doorway on the first floor in the

piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...

-style. The first floor doorway was surmounted by a segmental pediment and a cartouche. The wings were fenestrated by tall windows with window sills,

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

s and alternating segmental and triangular pediments on the ground floor, and by square-shaped windows on the first floor. At roof level, there was 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 which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

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

. A clock turret was also added, housing a clock by E. T. Loseby of Leicester and topped by a weather vane in the shape of a wyvern. The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, described the staircase as "spectacular", although Ordish had his doubts about it and later disowned it. A statue of the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland, sculpted by Edward Davis, was unveiled outside the building by Sir Frederick Gustavus Fowke, 1st Baronet on 28 April 1852. 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. However, in the early 20th century, the building served as a focal point for civic celebrations and, in June 1911, a large crown attended celebrations to mark the

Coronation of George V and Mary The coronation of George V and his wife Mary as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India, took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911. This was the second of fou ...

. Then, in August 1914, at the start of the First World War, the building was the venue for a lively debate involving the future Prime Minister,

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

, who spoke on the importance of democracy and overcoming militarism. After a long period when the building was vacant and deteriorating, it was acquired by Wetherspoons and, after a major refurbishment, it re-opened as a public house in July 2000.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Leicester Grade II* listed buildings in Leicestershire Pubs in Leicestershire Corn exchanges in England

History

See also

References