Westgate Hall, Grantham

Westgate Hall
Westgate Hall
Location	Westgate, Grantham
Coordinates	52°54′45″N0°38′37″W / 52.9126°N 0.6436°W / 52.9126; -0.6436
Built	1852
Architect	Anthony Salvin
Architectural style(s)	Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Westgate Hall
Designated	20 April 1972
Reference no.	1062439
Shown in Lincolnshire

Westgate Hall is a commercial building in Westgate, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The structure, which was last used as a nightclub, is a Grade II listed building. ^[1]

History

In the mid-19th century, a group of local businessmen decided to form a private company, known as the "Grantham Corn Exchange Company", to finance and commission a purpose-built corn exchange for the town. ^[2] The site they selected was on the east side of Westgate. The building was designed by Anthony Salvin in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1852. ^[3]

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Westgate. On the ground floor, there was an arcade of three round-headed openings flanked by short Tuscan order columns supporting architraves and keystones. On the first floor there were three mullioned and transomed windows with architraves and segmental pediments. There were quoins at the corners and an entablature, a cornice and a balustraded parapet with finials at roof level. ^[1]

The buildings was also used as a public events venue: the suffragettes, Gertrude Wilkinson and Florence Balgarnie, addressed a meeting about votes for women in the building in May 1885. ^[4] 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] Instead it was converted for use as a butter and poultry market in November 1892. It was used as a NAAFI Club during the Second World War and, after the war, it became a dance hall. It then served as an auction house in the 1980s and became a nightclub in 1993. It was variously branded as Jaspers, Club It and Wow ("Wasted or What") ^{[6] [7] [8]} but, after it fell vacant in 2017, ^[9] the fabric of the building started to deteriorate. ^[10]

A major programme of restoration works, carried out to a design by Evan McDowell Architects at a cost of £600,000 and financed with grant from the Grantham High Street Heritage Action Zone programme, started on site in late 2022. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

See also

• Corn exchanges in England

References

1. Historic England. "Westgate Hall (1062439)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 July 2023.
2. Report of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies. House of Commons. 1849. p. 2.
3. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Harris, John; Antram, Nicholas (1989). Lincolnshire (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 321. ISBN   978-0300096200.
4. Murray, Janet Horowitz; Stark, Myra (2016). The Englishwoman's Review of Social and Industrial Questions 1885. Vol. 18. Taylor and Francis. ISBN   978-1315403281.
5. Fletcher, T. W. (1973). 'The Great Depression of English Agriculture 1873-1896' in British Agriculture 1875-1914. London: Methuen. p. 31. ISBN   978-1136581182.
6. Pinchbeck, John (2018). Secret Grantham. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1445676517.
7. "Former Grantham nightclub dance floor to be ripped out as restoration continues". The Grantham Journal. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
8. "Lincolnshire Clublist – Grantham, Sleaford, Spalding and Stamford". BBC. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
9. "Grantham residents welcome 'exciting' plans for a high-end restaurant in town centre". Lincolnshire Live. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
10. "Masonary collapse from former corn exchange". Grantham Matters. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
11. "£600,000 move to turn historic corn exchange into 'destination venue'". Lincolnshire Live. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
12. "Renovation and repair on the menu for historic Westgate Hall in Grantham". The Grantham Journal. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
13. "Works to restore historic Westgate Hall in Grantham continue to progress despite challenges". The Grantham Journal. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.