Corn Exchange, Haddington
The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in Court Street, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland. The structure, which is now used as a community events venue, is a Category B listed building.[1]
| Corn Exchange, Haddington | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Corn Exchange, Haddington | |
| Location | Court Steet, Haddington |
| Coordinates | 55.9552°N 2.7804°W |
| Built | 1854 |
| Architect | Francis Farquharson |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Category B | |
| Official name | Corn Exchange, Court Street, Haddington |
| Designated | 5 December 1977 |
| Reference no. | LB34257 |
  Shown in East Lothian | |
History
Until the mid-19th century, corn merchants conducted their trade under the arches of the Town House.[2] By the mid-19th century, this arrangement was deemed inadequate, and civic leaders decided to commission a dedicated corn exchange on a site to the east of the Sheriff Courthouse.[3]
The building was designed by Francis Farquharson in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1854.[4] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Court Street. The central bay featured a Venetian window with an architrave and a hood mould surmounted by a clock, while the outer bays contained doorways with architraves, triangular pediments and wrought iron lamp brackets. The central bay was surmounted by a raised pediment with a carving of a wheat sheaf in the tympanum. Internally, the principal room was the main hall which stretched back behind the main frontage.[1]
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.[5] It was subsequently used as a community events venue and, during the First World War and the Second World War, it served as billeting for soldiers.[6]
In June 2014, the management of the building was transferred from East Lothian Council to the newly formed Haddington Community Development Trust.[7] An extensive programme of refurbishment works, undertaken by Maxi Construction at a cost of £800,000 to a design by Summers Inman, started on site in spring 2019.[8][9] The work was paused while the building was used as a vaccination centre during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[10] After the work was adapted to allow the Brunton Theatre Trust to use the corn exchange for theatrical performances,[11] the building re-opened to the public again in October 2023.[12]
References
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Corn Exchange, Court Street, Haddington (LB34257)". Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- Gillon, Jack (2015). Haddington Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445644110.
- "Ordnance Survey Map". 1860. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- Martine, John (1883). Reminiscences of the royal burgh of Haddington and old East Lothian agriculturists. Edinburgh; Glasgow: John Menzies & Company. p. 167. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- Fletcher, T. W. (1973). 'The Great Depression of English Agriculture 1873-1896' in British Agriculture 1875-1914. London: Methuen. p. 31. ISBN 978-1136581182.
- "Corn Exchange". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Haddington Corn Exchange is ours!". East Lothian Courier. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Maxi to deliver Haddington Corn Exchange refurbishment works". Scottish Construction Now. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Haddington Corn Exchange". Maxi Construction. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Haddington Corn Exchange Vaccination Centre" (PDF). NHS Lothian. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Edinburgh and Lothian buildings affected by RAAC concrete: Everything you need to know". Edinburgh News. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Haddington: Live shows set to return to Corn Exchange". East Lothian Courier. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.