The Malt Cross is a building in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is situated on St James Street in
Nottingham city centre, off the
Old Market Square. The building was built in 1877 and is one of only a few
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...
s still standing. It was a café bar that hosted live music events until its closure on 18 July 2018.
On 15 August 2018 it was announced that the Malt Cross would re-open in September as a result of a new partnership between the existing trustees and the Nottinghamshire YMCA.
The building takes its name from a monument that used to be in the market square and was a gathering place for many people.
William Howie Wylie
William Howe Wylie (1833–1891) was a Scottish journalist and Baptist minister.
Life
The son of William Wylie, a block calico printer of Kilmarnock, by his wife Agnes, daughter of John Howie of Lochgoin, he was born at Kilmarnock on 24 February ...
noted that "John Nelson, a Yorkshire stonemason and one of
Wesley's earliest followers, preached once in the market place and once at the Malt Cross."
History
In 1806 the former site of the Malt Cross monument was cleared, being recorded as:
The Malt Cross was built in 1877. It had previously been an inn named the Roebuck but was bought by Mr Charles Weldon who rebuilt and enlarged the premises.
Mr Charles Weldon only managed the music hall for a few years before the mortgage of £5,500 was foreclosed in 1880. It was then subject to a frequent change of management with Mr William Hulse taking the reins from 1883 – 1889, Mr E.F. Buxenstein for a year in 1891, Mr Arthur B. Johnson for a slightly lengthier period of 1893 – 1900, and then Mr Lewis Thompson Donkersley between 1902 - 1904.
Architect
The man who designed the Malt Cross building as it is seen today was a Mr Edwin Hill.
[Young, A: "St James Street and the Potters House: A Brief History", p27, Potters House Trust, 1995] The most impressive part of his design was that of the high-arched glazed roof, the wooden arches of which are built from ten layers of laminated wood on the inner arches and twelve on the outer. This layered design allowed the beams to be bent to the required curve and did away with the usual difficulties of wooden arch design. The layers have no visible nail or bolt holes and it is thought that they are held together by glue alone.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Nottingham (Bridge ward)
Bridge ward is an Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the city of Nottingham, England. The ward contains over 270 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of thes ...
References
External links
- A history of the Malt Cross, St James's Street
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Buildings and structures in Nottingham
Music hall venues in the United Kingdom
Tourist attractions in Nottingham
Theatres in Nottingham