Liverpool Cotton Exchange Building
Encyclopedia
Liverpool Cotton Exchange Building is an office block in Old Hall Street, Liverpool
, Merseyside
, England. It was built in 1905–06 to replace the former cotton exchange in Exchange Flags. Its Neoclassical
façade was replaced in 1967–69 by one in more modern design. The building is used mainly as offices, with some retail facilities.
. The first Cotton Exchange Building was built in 1808 adjacent to the flags. The present building in Old Hall Street was erected in 1905–06 to a design by Matear and Simon. Its façade was in Neoclassical
style, with Baroque
towers at the angles. Its exterior decoration included statues. Inside the building was the latest technology for communicating with cotton trading elsewhere in the world, including telephones, and cables linking directly with New York, Bremen and Bombay. The Old Hall Street front was replaced with a modern-style façade designed by Newton-Dawson, Forbes and Tate in 1967–69, and the former main exchange hall was replaced by a courtyard. In addition to offices, the building also incorporates retail facilities.
. The sides and back of the building are largely unaltered from the original design. The façade on Edmund Street, facing northwest, has retained cast iron
panels decorated with wreaths, made by Macfarlane's of Glasgow. The back of the building, on Bixteth Street, is faced with Portland stone
, and the Ormond Street front is in brick. Inside the building the colonnade
formerly surrounding the trading floor is still present. The columns are monoliths
of larvikite
, quarried in Norway and polished in Aberdeen. The building has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building. Some of the statues formerly on the façade are now located nearby; these include personifications of Navigation and Commerce.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, England. It was built in 1905–06 to replace the former cotton exchange in Exchange Flags. Its Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
façade was replaced in 1967–69 by one in more modern design. The building is used mainly as offices, with some retail facilities.
History
The business of the cotton exchange was originally conducted outdoors on Exchange Flags, behind Liverpool Town HallLiverpool Town Hall
Liverpool Town Hall stands in High Street at its junction with Dale Street, Castle Street, and Water Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, described in the National Heritage List for England as "one of the finest...
. The first Cotton Exchange Building was built in 1808 adjacent to the flags. The present building in Old Hall Street was erected in 1905–06 to a design by Matear and Simon. Its façade was in Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style, with Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
towers at the angles. Its exterior decoration included statues. Inside the building was the latest technology for communicating with cotton trading elsewhere in the world, including telephones, and cables linking directly with New York, Bremen and Bombay. The Old Hall Street front was replaced with a modern-style façade designed by Newton-Dawson, Forbes and Tate in 1967–69, and the former main exchange hall was replaced by a courtyard. In addition to offices, the building also incorporates retail facilities.
Architecture
The building is in seven storeys, and the modern front on Old Hall Street, facing southwest, has 21 baysBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
. The sides and back of the building are largely unaltered from the original design. The façade on Edmund Street, facing northwest, has retained cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
panels decorated with wreaths, made by Macfarlane's of Glasgow. The back of the building, on Bixteth Street, is faced with Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
, and the Ormond Street front is in brick. Inside the building the colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
formerly surrounding the trading floor is still present. The columns are monoliths
Monolithic column
A monolithic column is a column of which the shaft is made from one single piece of stone instead of different sections.They are sometimes called 'single-piece columns' and were most likely used on ancient temples....
of larvikite
Larvikite
Larvikite is a variety of monzonite, notable for the presence of handsome, thumbnail-sized crystals of feldspar. These feldspars are known as ternary because they contain significant components of all three end-member feldspars...
, quarried in Norway and polished in Aberdeen. The building has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building. Some of the statues formerly on the façade are now located nearby; these include personifications of Navigation and Commerce.