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The French Revolution (1789-1799) saw the overthrow of the French monachy in favour of a Republic and gave rise, in 1799, to Napoleon Bonaparte. He promptly returned France to dictatorial rule – declaring himself Emperor in 1804 – and then set out on a quest to conquer Europe and Britain in what became known as the Napoleonic Wars (1804-1815).
But his plans to invade Britain were effectively ended in July 1805 when the Royal Navy outmanoeuvred his fleets at Cape Finisterre off the northwest coast of Spain. Any further thoughts of invasion were finally quashed in October that same year when Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar. However, in the build-up to invasion Britain had been unable to import wheat from Europe. This inevitably led to an expansion of British wheat farming and, subsequently, higher bread prices. Farmers and landowners profitted greatly but feared once the French wars ended, the resumption of imported wheat would lower prices.
To protect their profits they put pressure on parliament to introduce a duty on imported wheat, and in 1815 a Corn Law was introduced stipulating that no wheat could be imported until domestic wheat cost £4 per quarter. Naturally the price was kept artificially high, but the subsequent increase in food prices caused people to spend far more on food than on other commodities, and the economy suffered. But since the vast majority of voters and members of parliament were landowners, the government was unwilling to consider new legislation to help the economy, or the poor.
In 1821 Bishop’s Stortford’s population of 3,358 were suffering the effects of the *Corn Laws like everybody else, more so the working classes who struggled to feed their families. Of more pressing concern to local farmers and landowners, however, was that Wheat Hill (now High Street), where grain had been traded since the Middle Ages, was now proving unsuitable for the task. As a result of the flourishing wheat trade corn exchanges were being built in towns and cities throughout the country, and in 1828 a consortium of local businessmen put together a plan to build a corn exchange in Bishop’s Stortford. The site chosen was that of the King’s Head Inn in the market place.
Designed in the neo-classical style by Lewis Vulliamy (See Thorley Guide – Thorley Church) and built in 1828, the Corn Exchange despite much alteration is still one of the few 19th century buildings in Bishop’s Stortford of real architectural merit. It is the oldest corn exchange in Hertfordshire and by far the most distinguished. There is even a suggestion that it inspired the design of St Albans Town Hall in 1832.
Four giant Ionic columns and pediments support the portico facing North Street, with two similar columns in place on the eastern side above the building’s Market Square entrance. Above the original entrance to the trading floor (currently occupied by a restaurant and a hairdressers), stood a statue of *Ceres the Greek goddess of the earth and, especially, grain. She, along with the building’s turrets and other embellishments was later removed and replaced by a large circular glass roof, giving the 65 dealers who worked here added light by which to judge the quality of grain being purchased and sold. Although called a Corn Exchange, the word ‘corn’ is a generic term for all cereal grain.
A single-storey addition to the rear of the building at the turn of the 20th century housed a barber’s shop and the Capital and Counties Bank then, later, Lloyds Bank before it moved to 20 North Street in the early 1970s.
Although the Corn Exchange was built for the trading of grain, it has since served a variety of purposes. In the 1800s it offered public meeting rooms holding up to 500 people, a library, club, literary society, and facilities to put on plays. The Guardians of the Union Workhouse, who held their first meetings at the George Inn, later moved to the Corn Exchange before building their own headquarters at Hockerill Street (See Guide 8 – Hockerill Street). During restoration of St Michael’s Church in 1868 the exchange was temporarily used for vestry meetings and as the parish church, and during the Second World War (1939–1945) it was used as a synagogue by Jewish refugees from London. Bishop’s Stortford’s Working Men’s Club was founded here in 1873, as was the Conservative Club in 1883. It also acted as a courthouse in the late 1800s.
When the Corn Exchange finally ceased trading in 1959, Hertfordshire County Council bought the premises for ‘no more than £22,500′ in order to control development of the site. Willful neglect soon ensured it fell into disrepair and in 1967 the same council proposed to demolish the building and replace it with a paved open space as part of the town improvement scheme. Local feelings ran high at this suggestion, the proposal so strongly opposed by the Civic Society and Local History Society that a ministerial decision was made in 1971 to save it. After the reprieve the exchange was sold to a developer who, between 1972 and 1974, removed the glass rotunda and restored and converted the building for use as shops and offices.
The man who oversaw the project was civil engineer David Burt (1937–2012), a former resident of the town for nearly 50 years, who also ran his business here for 26 years. He won the 1974 European Heritage Year Award for his work on the building. In later years he was involved in efforts to restore water to the Castle Gardens moat, and was also awarded the Freedom of the City of London.
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