Behind the Scenes: Heritage Histories at Cambridge Corn Exchange

Archive deep dives…

Doing research in archives never disappoints. The excitement of looking through a database, identifying something that might be relevant to your work, and then hunting it down to see what it’s like in real life always feels like a bit of a treasure hunt. So, when you find what you’re looking for – or even better, something you’d never expected – it’s a little victory. 

Henrietta Hammant, our Archive Research Manager says:

'I love that every archive has its own character, based on the different things that have been collected over the years. For this heritage project, celebrating 150 years of the Cambridge Corn Exchange, I have been lucky enough to visit a host of regional archives with their own particular collections. The Cambridgeshire Archives in Ely brought us face-to-face with the surprising bureaucracy that swirled around the construction of the Corn Exchange building in 1875. Meanwhile, at the Museum of Cambridge, I found historic photographs and pamphlets that gave a glimpse into life at the Corn Exchange in the early 20th century. While at the Cambridgeshire Collection in Cambridge City Library, there were all sorts of magazines and programmes recounting the wonderful musical heritage of this venue.'

'I’ve also been lucky enough to work with our fantastic research volunteers, who have been exploring a range of physical and digital archives for this project. They’ve unearthed more stories than I ever could have found on my own, made databases of concert histories, looked into the specifics of the architectural decorations in our building, and helped us better understand the Corn Exchange’s original purpose as a place to – well – trade corn!' 

Come and see the fruits of our archival research at our exhibition on the history of the Corn Exchange in February 2026.