[1] A medieval town hall in Bideford was the venue for the "court of inquisition" on 3 July 1682 into the activities of Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles, who were all hanged on 25 August 1682, the last three women to be executed for witchcraft in England.

[9] Following the demolition in July 1904 of Thomas Hogg's chemist's shop, which had dated back to the early 19th century and had stood on the corner of New Road and Bridge Street,[10] the town hall was extended along New Road by H. Glover and Sons of Bideford to a design by Alfred Dunn in a similar style to the original town hall in 1905.

[1] Three carved shields bearing the arms, which had been granted to the Bideford Borough Council, were fixed to the Bridge Street elevation of the town hall in April 1937.

[16][17] The building also became the meeting place of Bideford Town Council, the parish-level authority set up in 1974 covering the area of the former borough.

[18] Works of art in the own hall include a portrait by Edmund Dyer of Admiral Sir Richard Grenville, who died in command of Revenge at the Battle of Flores in August 1591 during the Anglo-Spanish War,[19] and a portrait by George Romney of George Stucley Buck, who was the father of Lewis William Buck MP.