[1] The earliest known property on the site was a house, previously owned by a Jew known as Benjamin, which King Henry III granted to the town for use as a prison in 1224.

[4] In 1747, a shire house, designed by Sharman and Barratt in the Classical style, was built, on arches with stalls beneath, on the open area at the front of the Market Square, just to the north of the old tollbooth.

[2] The shire house and the tollbooth were connected by a wooden bridge over Butter Row, a narrow market street with stalls selling dairy products.

[5][8] The guildhall continued to be used as a public venue and concert performers included the contralto singer, Kathleen Ferrier, who made an appearance on 17 May 1951.

[11] The guildhall was the venue for Crown Court hearings until a dedicated courthouse opened in East Road in June 2004.