The building was designed in the medieval style, built in rubble masonry with granite dressings and dates back to around the time that the royal charter was granted in 1536.

[1] The cross-wing was fenestrated at the east end by a stained glass window which depicted, in each of the four quadrants, the arms of four nations of the United Kingdom.

[2] The Methodist cleric, John Wesley, preached at the guildhall in August 1779,[3] and the lord of the manor, Francis Basset, 1st Baron de Dunstanville, presented a royal coat of arms which was installed above the doorway in 1807.

[2] Following the implementation of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, the feudal borough officials were replaced by an elected council, which continued to hold its meetings in the building.

[11][12][13] Shop fronts were then inserted into the guildhall at ground floor level, and in 1949, the building was grade II listed.