[2] After finding this arrangement unsuitable, the local board decided to procure a purpose-built town hall: the site they selected was occupied by two residential properties which had formed part of the estate of the 7th Earl De La Warr, whose family seat was at Buckhurst Park.

[2] It was designed by Henry Ward in the Renaissance style, built by a local contractor, Charles Thomas, in red brick with stone dressings at a cost of £5,250 and was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Joseph Renals, on 27 April 1895.

[4] The foundation stone for an extension to the west, which accommodated an enlarged council chamber, was laid by Lord Buckhurst on 16 March 1908.

[8] In July 1925 the borough council acquired the house to the immediate west of the town hall for expansion and, in summer 1937, the complex was extended along Amherst Road.

[2] The town hall continued to serve as the borough headquarters for much of the 20th century and remained the local seat of government when the enlarged Rother District Council was formed in 1974.