Corn Exchange, Beccles

Corn Exchange, Beccles
Corn Exchange, Beccles
Location	Exchange Square, Beccles
Coordinates	52°27′26″N1°33′49″E / 52.4572°N 1.5637°E / 52.4572; 1.5637
Built	c.1810
Architectural style(s)	Italianate style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Premises occupied by Lloyds Bank
Designated	22 September 1971
Reference no.	1298984
Shown in Suffolk

The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in Exchange Square in Beccles, Suffolk, England. The structure, which is now used as a branch of Lloyds Bank, is a Grade II listed building. ^[1]

History

The building was commissioned a local landowner, Robert Rede: the Redes were a prominent family in the town who had become the lords of the manor following dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. ^[2] He acquired the site in 1794 and arranged for a private dwelling to be erected there in 1810. ^[3] The property was acquired by an actor and theatre manager, David Fischer, in 1819, as part of a project to establish a chain of theatres across East Anglia. ^[4] Fisher converted the property into two residential units and a theatre which opened as the "New Play House" later that year. ^{[3] [5]}

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto Sheepgate. On the ground floor, there were two centrally-placed doorways, giving access to the two residential units, both flanked by pilasters supporting entablatures decorated with triglyphs and surmounted by cornices. There were three bays to the left and two bays to the right, all fenestrated on the ground floor by round headed windows with architraves. The first floor was fenestrated by sash windows with window sills and cornices supported by brackets, and the second floor was fenestrated by segmentally headed windows with architraves and keystones. At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice and a hipped roof. ^[1]

After Fisher died in 1832, the property continued to operate as a theatre until the building was auctioned in June 1844: it was acquired by Edward Lock of Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire who converted it into a corn exchange. He removed the theatre fittings and demolished the internal walls to create one large room for corn merchants to conduct their trade. ^{[6] [7] [8]} The trading room was 63 feet (19 m) long and 34 feet (10 m) wide. ^[9]

The building was also used for public events: speakers included two members of parliament, Jasper More and Clare Sewell Read, who addressed a meeting of farmers, who were concerned about the Malt tax and the Game laws, in January 1867. ^[10] 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. ^[11] The property was occupied by Capital and Counties Bank in 1907, ^[3] and then by Lloyds Bank, after Capital and Counties Bank was acquired by Lloyds Bank in 1918. ^[12]

See also

• Corn exchanges in England

References

1. Historic England. "Premises occupied by Lloyds Bank (1298984)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 August 2023.
2. Suckling, Alfred (1846). "'Beccles', in The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: Volume 1 (Ipswich)". British History Online. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
3. Lindley, Robert (2020). "Beccles: Sheepgate". Foxearth and District Local History Society. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
4. Field, Moira (2004). "Fisher, David (1788–1858), actor and musician" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9491 . Retrieved 20 January 2021.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
5. "Plaque on the Front of the building" . Retrieved 4 August 2023.
6. "Beccles Timeline". Beccles Museum. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
7. Darch, Barry (2018). Beccles Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1445665139.
8. Bettley, James; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2015). Suffolk East (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 111. ISBN   978-0300196542.
9. Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review. Vol. 177. F. Jefferies. 1845. p. 307.
10. The Malt Tax and the Game Laws. British Farmer's Magazine Issue 52. 1867. p. 204.
11. Fletcher, T. W. (1973). 'The Great Depression of English Agriculture 1873-1896' in British Agriculture 1875-1914. London: Methuen. p. 31. ISBN   978-1136581182.
12. The Bankers' Magazine. Vol. 97. New York: Bradford Rhodes and Company. July 1918. p. 419.