For much of the 20th century the Shire Hall in Bedford was the local facility for dispensing justice and the meeting place of Bedfordshire County Council.

[1] After deciding the old shire hall was inadequate for their needs, county leaders chose to procure a new county headquarters: the site selected on the south bank of the River Great Ouse had previously been used as a recreation ground.

[2] Construction of the new building, which was undertaken by Arthur Sanders Limited of Rushden, started in 1965.

[3] The design involved a reinforced concrete-framed structure with an asymmetrical main frontage facing Cauldwell Street which curved round on the left side down to the river; there was a canopied main entrance on the ground floor and there were exposed concrete beams above and below a continuous band of glazing on each of the six floors.

[10] Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited County Hall, before departing to open new facilities at Bedford Modern School, on 11 May 1976.