Corn Exchange, Ross-on-Wye

Blue plaque on the building

In the mid-19th century, a group of local businessmen decided to form a private company, known as the "Ross Corn Exchange and Public Buildings Company", to finance and commission a purpose-built corn exchange for the town. The site they selected was on the north side of the High Street.[2]

The new building was designed by Thomas Nicholson in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1862. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of six bays facing onto the High Street. The left-hand bay contained a round headed carriage entrance with voussoirs on the ground floor, and a round headed window with an elaborate surround on the first floor. The right-hand section of five bays contained round headed openings with voussoirs and keystones on the ground floor and sash windows with segmental pediments supported by brackets on the first floor. The first-floor windows were separated by Ionic order pilasters supporting an entablature and a dentilled cornice. Internally, the principal rooms were a market hall on the ground floor and an assembly room on the first floor.[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.[3] However, it continued to be used for public events: performers at that time included the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.[4] It was converted for cinema use, under the branding of "The New Theatre", in 1922, and hosted performances the Ross Operatic and Dramatic Society,[5] before it was badly damaged by a fire in 1939.[6]

After the Second World War, the interior of the building was restored by Ross-on-Wye Town Council which converted part of the structure for use as its meeting place and offices.[7] The ground floor was re-purposed for retail use and, in 2010, became the first branch of a new chain of bookshops, Rossiter Books.[8][9] A structure at the rear of the main building, which had been used as a workshop and garage, was converted into a restaurant and wedding venue by the management of the King's Head Hotel in 2022.[10][11]

Notable works of art in the building include a portrait by an unknown artist of the local philanthropist, John Kyrle, sometimes referred to as The Man of Ross.[12]

• Corn exchanges in England