Thirty entries were received in the competition to design a new Cotton Exchange building. The designs were put on public display and judged by the respected Charles Robert Cockerell, surveyor to the Bank of England. The winning entry was from William Brakspear and Thomas Dickson of Manchester.
The Exchange Committee aimed to raise £20,000 through selling shares to pay for the building, but they fell short of the amount. By 1851, the Cotton Exchange project was cancelled and the land sold off at auction. The site would later become a bank, and is now home to Lloyds Bank.