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Lottery grant aids Cambridge Corn Exchange’s 150th birthday celebrations




The Cambridge Corn Exchange will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year with the aid of a £139,598 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Designed by Victorian architect Richard Reynolds Rowe, the Corn Exchange was built on the site of a medieval priory, using a quarter of a million local bricks and began life as a place for farmers to trade corn.

The Cambridge Corn Exchange. Picture: Keith Heppell
The Cambridge Corn Exchange. Picture: Keith Heppell

It has hosted everything from motor shows in the late 19th century and Suffragette meetings, to Tea for a Thousand in 1935 and the cleaning and repair of rifles in the 1940s.

In recent decades, some of the biggest names in entertainment have performed on its stage.

Support from the Heritage Fund will help Cambridge City Council, which runs the venue, to tell the story of its history, its place in the life of Cambridge, and those it has welcomed, as well as introducing the Corn Exchange to younger generations.

Cllr Rachel Wade, executive councillor for communities, said: “This announcement is wonderful news.

“We are immensely grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for contributing such a substantial grant to this important 150th anniversary project.

“It truly reflects the unique cultural and historical importance the Cambridge Corn Exchange holds for the city and beyond. Thanks also goes to Cambridge BID for their invaluable support.

“How exciting looking ahead to 2025! Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, this is a precious opportunity to bring the venue’s history to life for all, record its stories and amass a wealth of fascinating memories and experience from those who’ve passed through the Corn Exchange doors – a building at the heart of our city for so long, connected to Cambridge life past, present and future.”

Cambridge BID project manager Jenny Granshaw said: “The Cambridge Corn Exchange is a popular and busy building in the heart of our city, and a cornerstone of cultural life in Cambridge.

“We’re delighted to be supporting the exciting events which will mark this special year in the building’s and also Cambridge’s history.”

Full details will be announced soon of the 150th anniversary project but a host of activities are being lined up, including a six-week exhibition at the Corn Exchange, an access-all-areas Community Open Day, 60 workshops with city schools involving partners like Dance East and Cambridge Literary Festival, and a special 150th anniversary Celebration Day in November 2025.

Ben Hallworth, senior arts development officer at Cambridge City Council, added: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to take a moment to discover and celebrate the rich heritage of this iconic Cambridge building.

Cambridge Corn Exchange has played a major part in shaping the city’s iconic past and we’re excited to uncover more of this rich history with and for our communities.”

Under the council’s emerging civic quarter proposals, there are also plans to invest in and improve the building for the future.

For more information on Cambridge Corn Exchange, visit cornex.co.uk.



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