Overview

The Wool Exchange is a Grade 1 Listed Building that is home to shops, restaurants and office space. The building has not been used for trading wool since the 1960s. Waterstones uses the ground floor area for book sales. The best views of the interior are available from the coffee shop on the mezzanine floor. Modern plate-glass windows on this side of the building let in plenty of natural light: something that was lacking in the old days of wool-trading. For more than 15 years, coffeehouse chain Starbucks occupied the space on the mezzanine floor. However, in February 2013, they closed this branch, with Waterstones replacing it with their own 'Café W' brand which opened in March 2013.[4][5] As well as Waterstones and Café W, the building currently hosts a newsagent, pizza restaurant, panini shop, employment agency and the Exchange Ale House. The exterior has sculptures of various heroes of the textile industry such as Joseph Marie Jacquard and also explorers and politicians.