Coal Exchange
The Coal Exchange was a live music venue in Cardiff, Wales, originally used as a market floor for trading in coal.
Coal Exchange is situated in Cardiff Bay, near The Point, Cardiff, and is used extensively for live music and other events on the Cardiff music scene. It has a capacity of 1,000.
As of 7 August 2013, the Coal Exchange Event Venue was closed indefinitely, due to building safety issues. Offices remain in use in the West Wing. Parts of the wings of the building remain open, and are currently used as offices for a number of local businesses.
As of 21 May 2015 it was announced that an empty part of the building would be used for filming some scenes of a remake of The Crow.
History
Before the Coal Exchange was built in Mount Stuart Square, the area was a residential square with a central garden. It was taken over by commerce as the city grew in prosperity. Coal merchants used to chalk up the changing prices of coal on slates outside their offices or struck deals in the local public houses.
Coal Exchange (London)
The London Coal Exchange was situated on the north side of Thames Street in the City of London, nearly opposite to Old Billingsgate Market, occupying three different structures from 1770 to 1962. The original coal exchange opened in 1770. A second building from 1805 was replaced by a new purpose-built structure constructed from 1847 to 1849, and opened by Prince Albert on 30 October 1849. This third London coal exchange was one of the first substantial buildings constructed from cast iron, built several years before the hall at the Great Exhibition. It was demolished in 1962 to allow widening of what is now Lower Thames Street. Cast iron decorations from the 1849 Coal Exchange building were selected as the model for the dragon boundary mark for the main entrances to the City of London.
Background
Coal had been imported to London by sea since at least medieval times. A coal exchange was established in 1770 on Thames Street in the City of London, near the site of Smart's Quay and close to Billingsgate Market; the main trades at Billingsgate Dock were fish and coal. The market was established by the main coal merchants as a private body to regulate the trade of coal in the capital, and was controlled by private coal merchant until the old Coal Exchange was bought by the Corporation of London in 1807. A new building had been built in 1805, with a recessed classical portico supported by small Doric pillars and triangular pediment above, with stone steps leading to a quadrangle within. Under the control of the City Corporation, the Coal Exchange became a free and open market, regulated by various Acts of Parliament, including Acts in 1831, 1838 and 1845.
