What was the Corn Exchange?

[fleetwood]

I don't think you can pin that on the Luftwaffe. The only two arcades we had were pulled down long after the war by the vandals on Sheffield City Council. Cambridge Arcade and the S&E Arcade.

 

I've never been an old building aficionado because I don't know enough about what buildings should be saved and which to pull down, but to do away with these two fine arcades seems like sacrilege. It would cost millions today to build or even come close to anything remotely like these two fine examples of early ingenuity and style.

[hillsbro]

... to do away with these two fine arcades seems like sacrilege. It would cost millions today to build or even come close to anything remotely like these two fine examples of early ingenuity and style.

Absolutely. J.B.Priestley, for example, never forgave Bradford Council for demolishing the Swan Arcade. If the Luftwaffe had flattened our Cambridge Arcade it might have been (slightly) easier to bear, but it fell victim to the same sort of stupidity as in Bradford.

.... why was it called the "Corn Exchange?" What happened in there with respect to corn? I've often wondered that.

A corn exchange was a type of wholesale market where farmers sold grain to merchants, but from about the turn of the last century onwards, most corn exchanges were used for other purposes, as was the one in Sheffield.

[soft ayperth]

Thanks for that explanation, Hillsboro.

[Clue Less]

My dad worked at Frank Williams opposite the Corn Exchange on Sheaf Street they used the two units next to the entrance as warehouses.Through the entrance was a huge courtyard Frank Williams converted half of it into banana ripening rooms with the entrance off Broad Street

[Plain Talker]

Absolutely. J.B.Priestley, for example, never forgave Bradford Council for demolishing the Swan Arcade. If the Luftwaffe had flattened our Cambridge Arcade it might have been (slightly) easier to bear, but it fell victim to the same sort of stupidity as in Bradford.A corn exchange was a type of wholesale market where farmers sold grain to merchants, but from about the turn of the last century onwards, most corn exchanges were used for other purposes, as was the one in Sheffield.

 

WOW!! Bradford's Swan Arcade looks astoundingly similar to our long-lamented Cambridge Arcade.

 

I really miss that Arcade (As I do the S&E arcade) I remember the blind chap who stood by Suggs/ the Arcade, and sold pens and matches from a tray.

I remember the legend that his hearing was so acute, he could differentiate between the coins you dropped into his mug, and Knew exactly how much you'd paid, and whether you'd short-changed him. I really think the building that is there now is utterly hideous. (though not actually as hideous as the Mothercare "scaffolding" carbuncle)

[PeterR]

I vaguely remember seeing this big old building when my mother used to take me to the market opposite as a four year old.

For anyone who isn't aware of 'Picture Sheffield' and would like to see photos of the Corn Exchange click on....http://www.picturesheffield.co.uk and type corn exchange in the search box. You may have to then click for full screen to find the go button. I often wonder if this is of help to anyone, so please let me know.

Regards, Peter.

My research shows that, in response to a need to trade with areas outside Sheffield, the 'new' canal basin was opened in 1819 and rail links were improved between 1830 and 1835 to places such as Liverpool docks. As well as improved market buildings, a Corn Exchange was built in 1830 adjacent to these transport links, where corn and other produce could be sold in bulk to merchants.

In 1881, the 'new' Corn Exchange was opened at a cost of £55,000 and decribed in a local newspaper as 'one of the greatest architectural beauties of the Town'.

[hillsbro]

.... a Corn Exchange was built in 1830 adjacent to these transport links, where corn and other produce could be sold in bulk to merchants...

I remember my father telling me about the City Goods Station, in which wagons were raised and lowered on hydraulic lifts, as trains came in from the Nunnery area and the tracks were at a higher level than the street. The goods station must have been adjacent to the Corn Exchange, on the north side of Broad Street; it is marked on this map.

[denlin]

There was also registry office at top of Spital Hill - the old Vestry Hall

[Falls]

I remember my father telling me about the City Goods Station, in which wagons were raised and lowered on hydraulic lifts, as trains came in from the Nunnery area and the tracks were at a higher level than the street. The goods station must have been adjacent to the Corn Exchange, on the north side of Broad Street; it is marked on this map.

 

Hi,

 

The City Goods Station was built by London North Western Railway to tap-in to what LNWR considered to be a lucrative business opportunity in the Sheffield area.

 

In the north of England, LNWR dominated on the West side of the Penines with only modest trackworks on the East. They did however have running rights over other railways such as the Midland. It was over Midland tracks that LNWR gained access to the Sheffield Area.

 

In my childhood, City Station was operated by the LMS.(The 1922 amalgamation of LNWR, the Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and others.

 

My Aunt however, continued to call the City Station, with its long brick wall along Broad Street: "The Northwestern". This was well into the life of Brit.Rail..

 

Regards

[hillsbro]

Hi Falls - it's interesting to have this background information..

 

I can just remember trainspotting on Bernard Road, where there was always a bunch of trainspotters sitting on the wall as you could see both the ex-Midland and ex-Great Central lines. In this photo Bernard Road is off the picture to the left. The upper bridge is Navigation Hill, and below this is the bridge that carried the tracks into City Station. Going along Blast Lane and Navigation Hill I remember seeing fruit & vegetable warehouses, perhaps one or more of these belonged to the Frank Williams firm that Clue Less refers to in post #24. Needless to say the two bridges in the photo have have disappeared; the Supertram line goes where Navigation Hill was, but this Google Earth photo taken from Derek Dooley way shows the stone railway arches in the distance.