page_title: Corn exchanges in England
section_title: Kent
hierarchical_section_title: Corn exchanges in England / Corn exchanges listed by Ceremonial Counties of England / Kent
caption_attribution_description: English: Old Corn Exchange with its huge clock
context_page_description: In England, corn exchanges are distinct buildings which were originally created as a venue for corn merchants to meet and arrange pricing with farmers for the sale of wheat, barley and other corn crops. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley. With the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, a large number of corn exchanges were built, particularly in the corn-growing areas of Eastern England. However, with the fall in price of English corn as a result of cheap imports, corn exchanges virtually ceased to be built after the 1870s. Increasingly they were put to other uses, particularly as meeting and concert halls. Many found a new lease of life in the early 20th century as cinemas, Following the Second World War, many could not be maintained and they were demolished. In the 1970s their architectural importance came to be appreciated, and most of the surviving examples are listed buildings. Most of the surviving corn exchanges have now been restored, and many have become arts centres, theatres or concert halls.
context_section_description: Maidstone. Corn exchange of 1835 by John Whichcord Snr, the Kent County Surveyor. Two storeyed stuccoed building with a parapet and coping with raised panels at intervals. The ground floor has a colonnade of seven round-headed arches flanked by engaged Tuscan columns with keystones above each arch. The centre portion has four round-headed arches with blanks above and the left hand side has six cambered sashes and two blanks with seven round-headed arches. Now converted into a shopping arcade.
  Rochester Corn Exchange. Early 18th-century building that was originally a butchery or shambles, but later converted into a corn exchange.
  Sittingbourne Corn Exchange in Central Avenue later became the town hall. 1858 by J H Andrews. Described in 1969 as "Debased classical, with a porch cum clock tower cutting into the shaped gable."  This has now been demolished and replaced by a more recent building.
  Tonbridge. Former chapel that was converted into a corn exchange.
  Tunbridge Wells. Corn exchange now the Pantiles. Originally built as a theatre in 1802. Three-storey stuccoed building with the ground floor rusticated. Parapet with solid panel in the centre, flanked by cornucopias and surmounted by the statue of a female figure with scythe and sheaf of corn. Cornice above each floor. The porch has two fluted Doric columns and plain pilasters.
caption: Old Corn Exchange, Rochester
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