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In the textile towns of the north there were cotton exchanges where there was trading between the mills, warehouse owners, importers and finishers. At first trading was done by the mill owners, merchants, and the men who ran importing and finishing businesses. As time passed the responsibility was passed to their representatives, managers, agents and salesmen. Cotton was being manufactured in the Manchester area from about 1680 when the East India Company were busy importing colourful Indian cottons. At this time much of the trading was done by 'chapmen' who stored their wares in the back rooms of convenient inns. As the industry grew and cotton imports and exports increased rapidly, a central market place (cotton exchange) for buying and selling cotton had to be established. In addition a number of large, architecturally ornate, home trade, import and export warehouses were built around Manchester City Centre. The Cotton Exchange was responsible for helping to create a world-wide market for its commodities. The Cotton Exchange in Manchester was first built in 1729 when it would have traded mostly in chintzes and printed calicoes. Subsequent rebuilding and enlargement of the Exchange took place and it later received a royal warranty from Queen Victoria and became known as the Manchester Royal Exchange. The present Royal Exchange on Exchange Street was built 1914-1921 and is the fourth Exchange built on the same site. The Exchange closed in 1968 but the final trading figures were left in situ as a memorial to the part cotton had played in the city's fortunes. Today the Royal Exchange building (still known by that name) houses a 'theatre in the round', a glass and steel structure built within the Exchange on the model of an Elizabethan circular playhouse. A Cotton Exchange was built in Liverpool during the 1850s and became home to the Liverpool Cotton Association. Liverpool was the major port for cotton imports and exports and played an important part in the international cotton industry. Liverpool Cotton Exchange was rebuilt in 1906. The building has survived and so has the Cotton Exchange at Blackburn (in Lancashire) built in 1849. Many large towns in the north west would have boasted a cotton exchange during the 19th century but most have not survived the decline of the industry and two world wars. GG View the Exchanges collection to find out more > |
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