[2][3][4] The town hall was designed by George Elkington in the Italianate style and built by J & C Bowyer, builders, at a cost of £4,341;[5] it was officially opened on 30 April 1879.

[5] The assembly hall was set to the southeast of the main building and featured an unusual hammerbeam roof with the beams connected by wrought iron rods.

[2] The building became the headquarters of the new Penge Urban District formed in 1900,[7] and was significantly extended by the creation of three extra bays to the northwest at a cost of £3,229 to incorporate a council chamber and committee rooms in 1911.

[8] The town hall continued to be the headquarters of the urban council for much of the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged London Borough of Bromley was formed in 1965.

[9] It was extended with a new structure at the rear to accommodate a public library and also to create additional space for Bromley Council's housing and social services departments in 1987.