Corn Exchange, Winchester

Corn Exchange, Winchester
Corn Exchange, Winchester
Location	Jewry Street, Winchester
Coordinates	51.0653°N 1.3162°W / 51.0653; -1.3162
Built	1838
Architect	Owen Browne Carter
Architectural style(s)	Italianate style
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Winchester Library
Designated	24 March 1950
Reference no.	1095414
Shown in Hampshire

The Corn Exchange, also known as The Arc, is a commercial building in Jewry Street in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The structure, which is currently used as a cultural hub, is a Grade II* listed building.^[1]

History

Inside the building

In the mid-1830s, a group of local businessmen decided to form a private company, known as the "Winchester Corn Exchange Company", to finance and commission a corn exchange for the town.^[2] The site they selected was open ground which had been occupied by a garden known as "Forstersplace" in the 15th century.^[3]

The new building was designed by Owen Browne Carter in the Italianate style, built in yellow brick with stone dressings at a cost of £4,000 and was completed in 1838. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of eleven bays facing onto Jewry Street with the end bays projected forward as pavilions. The central section of three bays featured a portico formed by four Tuscan order columns supporting an entablature, a cornice with wide eaves and a modillioned pediment. The wings were fenestrated by round headed windows with voussoirs and, at roof level, there was a central bell turret.^[1] The portico was modelled on that designed by Inigo Jones for St Paul Covent Garden.^[4] Describing the front of the building, The Gentleman's Magazine said that Carter had "endeavored to avoid the flimsy effect of the modern Grecian school, and to keep in view the more legitimate style of design inculcated by Palladio in Italy, and at home by our own countrymen, Jones and Wren."^[5]

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.^[6] It was converted for use as a roller-skating rink in 1906, as a theatre in 1915 and then as a cinema in 1917. After that, it became a dance hall in 1922, a cinema again in 1933 and finally a public library in 1936.^[7] Hampshire County Council took over management of the building in 1974.^[4]

A major programme of works, costing £7 million, to convert the building into a "Discovery Centre" was completed in February 2008. The works involved the creation of an exhibition room on the ground floor. The building was officially re-opened by Duchess of Cornwall on 21 February 2008.^[8][9] A further programme of refurbishment works, costing £715,000, leading to the re-branding of the building as a "Cultural Hub" was completed in February 2022. Although the ground floor subsequently remained in use for lending of books, the whole of the mezzanine floor became exhibition space. The Hampshire Cultural Trust took over the management of the building, which was re-branded as "The Arc", at that time.^[10][11]

See also

• Corn exchanges in England
• Grade II* listed buildings in City of Winchester

References

1. Historic England. "Winchester Library (1095414)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
2. "Winchester Corn Exchange Co Ltd". National Archives. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
3. Keene, Derek; Rumble, Alexander R. (1985). Survey of Medieval Winchester Part 1. Oxford University Press. p. 657. ISBN 978-0198131816.
4. "Winchester Library - The history of the building". Oxford Archaeology. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
5. Cave, Edward (1838). "Domestic Occurrences". The Gentleman's Magazine: 316.
6. Fletcher, T. W. (1973). 'The Great Depression of English Agriculture 1873-1896' in British Agriculture 1875-1914. London: Methuen. p. 31. ISBN 978-1136581182.
7. "Corn Exchange building, Winchester". Sense of Place South East. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
8. "Duchess of Cornwall visits Winchester". Hampshire Chronicle. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
9. "Camilla delights Winchester on royal tour". Daily Echo. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
10. "Winchester Discovery Centre to be renamed following £715,000 refurbishment". In Your Area. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
11. "Winchester Discovery Centre reopens today as The ARC". Hampshire Chronicle. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.