Welcome to St Ives Corn Exchange
The Community Centre at the Heart of St Ives
Located in the centre of the historic market town of the St Ives, the Corn Exchange re-opened in 2010 following a £1m refurbishment paid for by the Town Council. Local businesses, individuals and fund raising by ACE - Friends of the Corn Exchange paid for the fit out.
The St Ives Corn Exchange is the
ideal venue for:
• Markets
• Business meetings
• Local clubs and societies
• Dinners
• Parties and Receptions
• Exhibitions
• Music and Drama
The Corn Exchange provides a range of flexible spaces and catering arrangements to suit your needs, from 2 to 200 people.
The building has flexible staging and technical systems for performances. The building meets DDA requirements with accessible toilets, lifts to the upper level and an induction loop in the main hall. A small loading area is provided at the rear for deliveries. For further details of spaces please see our Facilities pages using the links above.
Discounted hire charges apply to regular users and community groups, please see the Bookings page for details.
Please contact us to discuss your particular requirements.
Corn Exchange History
The Corn Exchange was opened in 1864, built and paid for by local businessmen. In addition to use by local corn merchants, the building was also used for concerts and meetings. The building was sold to the then St Ives Borough Council in 1947 and passed to the Town Council following the local Government Reorganisation in 1974.
Structural concerns lead to the building being closed in 2001 and the following years saw a number of schemes for refurbishment being put forward but nothing was taken forward.
In 2006 when it appeared likely that the building would be sold off, a campaign group Action Corn Exchange (ACE) was created by local residents to save the building and retain it for community use. Although a “For Sale” sign did appear briefly on the building, in late 2007 the Town Council decided to restore the building and fund the work.
Construction work started in late 2009 and the restored building was formally re-opened by the Mayor of St Ives, Councillor David Hodge on Thursday 24 June 2010.
The building is owned by St Ives Town Council and is run by the Corn Exchange Community Interest Company with the help of volunteers from ACE – Friends of St Ives Corn Exchange.
An Amazing first year at
The Corn Exchange - view the PR