Bermondsey Street Back Stories

Number 5: An Ornament to the District: The London Leather, Hide and Wool Exchange By Jennie Howells October 2019

The proud frontage on Weston Street

Everything in Leather Bermondsey’s fame as a centre of the leather industry was widespread. It had a plentiful supply of water, renewed twice daily by the tidal flow of the Thames. Many of the substances needed to tan leather were available locally. The trade had a unique aroma and its complicated and often repellent processes led to its development away from the City of London, in a less salubrious area, Bermondsey, south of the river! Note ‘hide’ was used for cattle skin and the skins of every other animal were known as ‘leather’.

The Leather Industry dominated Bermondsey By the 19th century, the noise and bustle of tanning, leatherworking and allied occupations dominated the district. Small artisan businesses grew into large commercial operations managed by men powerful within their enterprise and influential in the local community. Bermondsey’s marketing slogans ‘There is nothing like leather’ and ‘Everything in Leather’ were widely recognised. The leather companies were major employers and their leaders were local personalities. In many ways, the opening of the Exchange building marked the peak of the industry in Bermondsey.

Bevington, a well-known leather firm and personality Bevington, founded in 1800 at Neckinger Mill, Abbey Street was a family firm that achieved an international reputation. Samuel Bourne Bevington was active in civic life and local philanthropy. He was President of the Working Men’s Institute, first established in Bermondsey Street in 1857 and became the first Mayor of Bermondsey in 1901. He is commemorated by a statue in Tooley Street. Other firms such as James Garnar, Alfred Lafone, Samuel Barrow, John Hepburn and many smaller enterprises manufactured a huge variety of leather goods.

A decorative roundel showing ‘fellmongering’ – scraping the skins clean

1832 A skin market opened for trade In 1831, successful leather merchants set up the London Leather Warehouse Company to finance the building of the Skin Market and Depository. A sum of £50,000 was raised and a plot of land, just north of Long Lane was purchased. Trading started in 1832/3 when the new buildings, consisting of warehouses, courtyard areas with archways, pillared arcades and a tavern were opened. These were badly damaged in wartime, but some of the original buildings remain along with the later additions in the existing Leathermarket complex on Weston Street.

Leatherworkers turn the skins in the tanning pits

Where to locate the leather trade? Fifty years later, there was again debate as to where the real base for leather trading should be. The Bermondsey men pressed for a meeting place in the heart of their busy district. A public meeting held in April 1877 at the Terminus Hotel at London Bridge discussed the possibility of building next to the flourishing Skin Market. A committee formed of prominent names in the leather business and quickly got down to work.

The handsome London Leather, Hide and Wool Exchange The result was the handsome Grade II listed London Leather Hide and Wool Exchange situated ten minutes’ walk south of London Bridge at the junction of Weston Street and Leathermarket Street. It was designed by George Elkington FRIBA, a notable district surveyor and architect. A local builder, Mr Shepherd of Bermondsey New Road was responsible for the construction.

After tanning, the skins are flattened and finished

An ‘ornament to the district’ The Exchange faced with red bricks and Portland stone was set on a granite plinth. Its impressive porch flanked by Atlas figures contrasted with the grimy industrial surroundings. It was welcomed as ‘an ornament to the district’. Five unique and beautifully carved roundels on the Leathermarket and Weston Street frontages, reproduced here, represent phases of leather processing and selling. As the result of wartime damage close by, the clock at the angled elevation of the structure no longer exists, nor are the hours struck on a bell in the open turret above.

Skins ready for sale being rolled and stored The building’s interiors Most of the ground floor was set apart for the large sales hall where the business of the Exchange was conducted. A broad staircase led to the dining rooms on the first floor. Rooms for public meetings, reading (and smoking) offered a club-like atmosphere. Hallways were laid with Minton tiles and hot water pipes heated the building. There was a manager’s apartment and at the rear, a tavern – now represented by the Leather Exchange public house.

1879 - the formal opening In August 1879, a banquet celebrated the formal opening of the Exchange. Leather magnate and future MP, Alfred Lafone presided over a gathering of dignitaries and well-respected members of the trade. Congratulatory speeches and loyal toasts were accompanied by lively musical entertainment rendered by popular performers

The fortunes of the leather industry declined For a while, the new Exchange lived up to the hopes of its energetic promoters. However, it was affected by changes in commerce and fluctuations in the fortunes of the leather industry. It continued as the Leather Exchange Club, catering for members of the local trade. Eventually, this too declined and by the 1900s, the building was occupied by offices, mostly concerned with the leather business.

Times have changed. Leather was for sale in Bermondsey until the 1980s, but leather items are no longer available for purchase at the Leathermarket premises. The adjacent buildings are now used by a variety of firms and organisations. The Leather Exchange public house retains some original features and is managed by owners sympathetic to its history.

A potential buyer inspecting the finished leather