Exchange Buildings

Exchange Buildings, Lowgate, Kingston upon Hull

A former public exchange, later converted to courts. Built in 1866 by William Botterill, it was converted to a courthouse in 1980–81 by Fisher, Hollingsworth & Partners.

The building is constructed in Italianate style with ashlar to the ground floor and yellow brick to the upper floors, with ashlar dressings. The roof is slate, featuring a single ridge and single gable with coped and modillioned brick stacks, and two corniced ashlar side wall stacks.

The ground floor displays channelled rusticated masonry with a vermiculated plinth and ground floor cornice. A second floor sill band and elaborate modillion eaves run across the façade. All windows are plain sashes. The building comprises three storeys plus basement, with a 13 by 7 window pattern and an inset rounded corner.

The corner entrance bay has double Corinthian pilasters, heavily rusticated on the ground floor and with quoins on the first floor. Above this, a tripartite first floor window is divided by engaged Corinthian columns and flanked by Corinthian pilasters, with a cornice and segmental pediment to the projecting centre. The next level has a tripartite window with Corinthian pilasters and moulded segmental heads with mask keystones. Above the main cornice stands a sculptured figure of Britannia. Below the main entrance is a rusticated round-headed doorway flanked by rusticated pilasters with enriched frieze and mask keystone, leading to double doors with shaped moulded panels and internal stone steps to curved double doors.

The left return to Bowlalley Lane features round-arched first-floor windows with linked heads and moulded keystones, arranged in the pattern 2:1:2:2:1:2:2:1. Paired windows have central Corinthian pilasters. The second floor is articulated by squat pilasters with similar fenestration of smaller segment-headed windows. The ground floor, articulated by rusticated pilasters, has an off-centre round-arched main doorway with half-glazed double door, overlight and sidelights, flanked by two segment-headed tripartite windows with keystones. Beyond to the left is a single doorway and another tripartite window. To the right is a smaller rusticated round-headed doorway with moulded four-panel door and fanlight. Below, the left side has four barred basement openings and the right side has two paired segment-headed openings with keystones.

The right return to Lowgate has similar fenestration arranged in the pattern 1:2:1:2:1. The ground floor contains three rusticated round-headed doorways alternating with two tripartite windows, and four segment-headed basement openings.

Interior

The main hall features a coved ceiling with coffered panels and drops, and a partly glazed barrel vault spanning five bays. The vault has coffered panels and tympana with ribs decorated with guilloche bands. The walls display round-headed moulded panels separated by pilasters. Two curved double doors with coats of arms above and two doors at the west end with cornices are present. The south side has a central pair of doors with eared architraves and cornices with crests, and to the left, a single door with cornice. The north side has five etched glass windows with fanlights. The Bowlalley Lane entrance leads to a stone cantilevered dogleg staircase with cast-iron balustrade and wooden handrail. A marble-panelled lower flight leads to glazed double doors opening into the former basement clubroom.

Historical Context

Beyond serving as a shipping exchange, the building housed a newsroom, offices, a telegraph company office, and a club and refreshment room in the basement. It functioned as a comprehensive centre for Hull's commercial life.