To spot Westgate Hall, look for a grand, stone building with three large arches along the ground floor, tall windows above, and a balustrade with decorative finials running along the roof, directly opposite you on the east side of Westgate.
Welcome to Westgate Hall! Imagine standing here in the bustling heart of Victorian Grantham, where the talk of the town was all about wheat, barley, and ambitious businessmen in their top hats. It’s 1852-the building in front of you is brand new, designed by Anthony Salvin, its stone walls gleaming in the sunlight. Listen closely and you might catch the clatter of horse hooves outside, and the lively chatter of traders bartering under the stone arches.
Back then, this hall wasn’t just any hall-it was the pride of the Grantham Corn Exchange Company. Inside, grains changed hands in an atmosphere thick with deals and dreams. But the excitement wasn’t just about farming-on a spring evening in 1885, the building was packed for a radically different reason. You’d have seen Gertrude Wilkinson and Florence Balgarnie-two fearless suffragettes-rallying for women’s votes, their words echoing off the high ceilings and stirring the crowd. You can almost feel their energy still lingering in the air.
Alas, farming fortunes faded with the Great Depression of British Agriculture, and the grand Corn Exchange became a butter and poultry market, with the bustle replaced by the clucking and aroma of local produce. During World War II, the mood turned somber as it hosted a NAAFI Club-a wartime refuge for soldiers grabbing a cuppa and sharing stories. After the war, the hall let its hair down and transformed into a dance hall, then an auction house, and finally a nightclub, pulsing with music and laughter.
Today, after years of neglect and wild nights, the hall’s grandeur is being restored, its stones given a much-needed spa day so it can, once again, be a vibrant landmark in Grantham's story. What tales this building could tell, if walls could talk!
