The building currently accommodates Bentham Town Council but is also used as a community events venue and a tourist information office.

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the farming industry, parish leaders decided to commission a public hall for the town in the early 1870s.

[3] A rectangular bronze plaque, intended to commemorate the lives of local service personnel who had died in the First World War, was attached to the front of the building in the early 1920s.

[7] For much of the 20th century, the building served as the meeting place of the parish council: it was also used for concerts and theatre performances.

In 2004, an extensive programme of works, financed by a grant from North Yorkshire County Council, was initiated.