Corn Exchange, Newark-on-Trent
Corn Exchange, Newark-on-Trent
LocationCastle Gate, Newark-on-Trent
Coordinates53°04′36″N 0°48′47″W / 53.0767°N 0.8130°W / 53.0767; -0.8130
Built1847
ArchitectHenry Duesbury
Architectural style(s)Italianate style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameFormer Corn Exchange, now Silverline Bingo
Designated19 May 1971
Reference no.1196050
Corn Exchange, Newark-on-Trent is located in Nottinghamshire
Corn Exchange, Newark-on-Trent
Shown in Nottinghamshire

The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in Castle Gate, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. The structure, which is currently 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 company, to be known as the "Newark Corn Exchange Company", to finance and commission a corn exchange for the town.[2] The site they selected was on the north side of Castle Gate.[1] The building was designed by Henry Duesbury in the Italianate style, built in ashlar stone at a cost of £7,100 and was officially opened on 27 September 1848.[3][4]

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Castle Gate. The main frontage featured a wide set of steps leading up to three round-headed alcoves, each containing a doorway surmounted by a fanlight-shaped carving and a series of coffered panels, and flanked by short Doric order pilasters supporting architraves with keystones. At the corners of the building, there were pairs of full-height Corinthian order pilasters supporting an entablature, a cornice and a balustraded parapet. At roof level, there was a central date stone and a square tower, which was flanked by statues sculpted by John Bell depicting agriculture and commerce, and which was surmounted by a octagonal dome and finial. Internally, the principal room was the main hall which was 83 feet (25 m) long and 52 feet (16 m) wide, and featured galleries at both ends.[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] Instead, it was re-purposed as a public events venue for lectures, exhibitions and concerts. In the years before the First World War, it also operated as a cinema showing silent films,[7] and, during the Second World War, performers included the comedian, Cardew Robinson.[8]

The building later served as a bingo hall, operated by Silverline, from 1971 to 1993, and then as a nightclub, known as Caesar's Palace, from 1994 to 2011.[9][10] After remaining vacant and deteriorating, the building featured in the book, "Revive and Survive: Buildings at Risk Catalogue 2018-2019", published by Save Britain's Heritage in June 2018.[11] In April 2023, after Newark and Sherwood District Council approved a new premises licence, the owner initiated a major programme of refurbishment works, to enable the nightclub to re-open under the brand "Club X" in summer 2023.[12][13][14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Former Corn Exchange, now Silverline Bingo (1196050)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Return of all companies registered under the Joint Stock Companies Act. House of Commons. 1848.
  3. ↑ Wilson, John Marius (1866). The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales; Embracing Recent Changes in Counties, Dioceses, Parishes, Etc. Vol. 2. A. Fullarton and Co. p. 412.
  4. ↑ "Forgotten buildings of Britain – in pictures". The Guardian. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Newark Corn Exchange. Vol. 6. Illustrated London News. 3 February 1849. p. 69.
  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. ↑ Newark Corn Exchange. To-day's Cinema News and Property Gazette. 1914. p. 36.
  8. ↑ The Daily Telegraph Third Book of Obituaries: Entertainers. Pan Books. 1998. p. 276. ISBN 978-0330367752.
  9. ↑ "£2m project to re-open Newark's Corn Exchange could be ditched over licensing issue". Newark Advertiser. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Remember Caesar's Palace? Two friends get inside Newark's Corn Exchange to document what it looks like now, years after it shut as a nightclub". Newark Advertiser. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "Revive and Survive: Buildings at Risk Catalogue 2018-2019". Save Britain's Heritage. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Ambitious plans for regeneration of Newark's derelict Corn Exchange revealed to promise entertainment, experience and escapism". Newark Advertiser. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "New nightclub at Corn Exchange on Castlegate, Newark to open by summer say building owners". Newark Advertiser. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Newark Corn Exchange nightclub plan given go ahead". BBC. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
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