Hop Exchange

The Hop Exchange is a grade II listed building at No. 24 Southwark Street, London SE1 in the Bankside area of the London Borough of Southwark. Opened in 1867 and designed by R.H. Moore it served as the centre for hop trading for the brewing industry.

Overview

Hops introduced to England from Holland were used in the brewing industry. They would be harvested from farms in Kent and brought by railway to London Bridge station, or by boat up the River Thames. They were then stored in the many warehouses in the Southbank area. The purpose of the exchange was to provide a single market centre (exchange) for dealers.

A glass roof allowed business on the trading floor of the Great Hall to be conducted under natural light. A fire in 1920 led to the top two storeys being removed and the exchange was converted into offices.

Many similar outcry floor exchanges existed across London, such as the Coal, Metal and Stock exchanges, but wartime German bombing, fire, redevelopment and modernization has left the Hop Exchange as the only remaining.

In 2004 Southwark Council nomiated it for its blue plaque scheme but it was turned down [ [http://www.southwark.gov.uk/DiscoverSouthwark/BluePlaquesSection/Nominees2004/thehopexchange.html Southwark Council | Discover Southwark | Blue Plaques | Blue Plaques 2004 | The Hop Exchange ] ] . Architectural critic Rowan Moore described in in "The Guardian" 2005 as a wonder [ [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1392041,00.html Wonders and blunders | | guardian.co.uk Arts ] ] ,.

The full postcode is SE1 1TY.

Images

References

External links

* http://www.hopexchange.co.uk/
* http://www.kzwp.com/lyons2/hop.cellars.htm