Building of the Month January 2024: Swindon Corn Exchange and Town Hall, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 1SB

Recognised as a desperate case for some time, it featured on The Victorian Society's ten most At Risk Victorian buildings in 2021, the Swindon Corn Exchange and Town Hall still languishes in a ruinous condition.

Historic England lists it grade II (LEN: 1023523), and notes that the plans are in the British Architectural Library, i.e. now the RIBA;  in its day (from 1852) it was a very significant building.  It began as the Town Hall;  the Corn Exchange was added in 1866.  It also housed magistrates’ courts.  After a new town hall was built the civic functions were transferred in 1891, after which the building began its descent in society, becoming a roller-skating rink (very popular in the late Victorian era), a cinema, a dance hall and then a bingo hall, finally closing in the late 1970s.

What the listing entry doesn’t say is that after a new owner took over in 1999, two serious fires occurred.  This magnificent building has been a roofless shell for almost 20 years.  Aerial shots show halls that look more like walled gardens, so forested are they.  The clock tower to which the townspeople must have looked up remains, but its elegant roof has gone too.

The BBC reported that the owner hoped to demolish the building in 2012;  the application was withdrawn. A developer who was hoping to work alongside the Borough Council on the building sadly died before plans could be realised.  So it remains in the hands of the 1999 buyer.

We understand that the Council wants to see the Corn Exchange restored. To support its restoration, the Council is seeking to use the adjoining car parks to deliver comprehensive and viable development and is working with the owner to market their respective interests as one development site.  Only proposals from developers with a track record of delivering signficant heritage schemes would be considered.  The Council are hopeful that this approach will secure the right developer for the site. 

In December 2023, it was reported in the local press that a potential buyer had been found and that it was just possible that a planning application would be made in 2024.