It was previously used as a corn and general trade exchange but is now used as offices and it also accommodates St Nicholas Market.

[2] When finished in 1743 the Exchange, as planned, had "the outward appearance of one grand structure,” and the much-admired exterior remains today largely as built.

A frieze with human and animal heads symbolises trade, and a Royal Coat of Arms is displayed in the tympanum.

[3] At the back of the building was a two-storey range, consisting of an arcade on the ground floor and a long first-floor room.

[2] In 1872 a major programme of building works was undertaken to a design by Edward Middleton Barry.

[2] Since 1945 further alterations have included the replacement of the roof over the central court by a temporary roof at a lower level, the removal of the clock tower at the back of the building and the internal rebuilding of all four floors of the coffeehouse together with the corresponding floors over the main entrance.

[2] Despite its name it was intended for merchants of all types, and a number directly involved in the Guinea and West Indian slave trade used it for business transactions.

Inside the Corn Exchange the plasterwork in the main hall represents the four corners of the world, including Africa and America, the latter wearing a headdress of tobacco leaves.

[5][6] During the 1960s the Exchange was a popular concert venue: performers at that time included The Rolling Stones in December 1963,[7] The Who in May 1965,[8] and The Spencer Davis Group in July 1965,[9] as well as Cream in January 1967.

This covered area was along the south wall of All Saints Church, which remains as a narrow lane giving access to commercial premises.

[11] The bronze nails, with their flat tops and raised edges which prevent coins from tumbling onto the pavement, were made as convenient tables at which merchants could carry out their business.