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| Drawn by G. and C. Pyne about 1827, engraved by T. Dixon |
The Corn Exchange opened on Brunswick/Fenwick St in 1808. Corn merchants had done their business in the area of the Town Hall, along with the cotton merchants and brokers, with offices in what was to become India Building. However, with the advent of Exchange Building and Exchange Flags, they decided to set up their own exchange in Brunswick Street in 1807. The new building was designed by J. Foster senior, at a cost of £10,000 in shares of £100 each. In 1809, the quantity of wheat imported was wheat 114,000 quarters; oats 460,000 quarters; flour 13,000 bags and 170,000 barrels. In 1912 the figures were: wheat 5,813,187 quarters; oats 599,603 quarters; flour 407,285 sacks; maize 1,756,712 quarters; beans 115,881 quarters; barley 244,515 quarters; peas 106,506 quarters; oatmeal 89,073 loads. These figures show the great strides the trade had made in the century.
Brunswick Street itself was opened in 1790 making a new approach to
the river between Moor Street and Water Street as it cut through a portion of the old Theatre in
Drury Lane, to which was attached a famous bar. A writer of
the period calls particular attention to the excellence of its cakes and
ale, stating "a young woman attends to accommodate the company
with such refreshments as they require, on very moderate terms." The Corn Exchange had also required 'the obliteration of the ten Chorley Street buildings between Brunswick Street and Old Ropery'
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| New Corn Exchange in Brunswick Street 1851 |
The new Corn Exchange, replacing the previous smaller exchange, was a fine James Picton building constructed in Brunswick Street in 1851 . Following the Repeal of the Corn Law in 1849, Liverpool had grown ever more important in the world market and the new Exchange represented the aspirations of Liverpool's merchants. Sadly, the building was destroyed during the Blitz and rebuilt, with the foundation stone of the new building being laid in1953.
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| Members of Liverpool Corn Exchange outside the bombed building during the Blitz. |
The Corn Exchange that now stands there, completed in 1959, is one of Liverpool's best post-War office blocks, although it is now without a trading floor (or any corn trade). There is still a public house trading on Old Ropery, Liverpool which was once the watering hole of merchants from the nearby Corn Exchange, hence the name.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/10/remembering-liverpool-structures-albany.html
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