[a] The Lower Market was designed by Charles Fowler in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was officially opened on 9 December 1836.

[2] The Lower Market was badly damaged by German bombing in the Baedeker Blitz on 4 May 1942 during the Second World War and was consequently demolished in the late 1950s.

[3] The new building was designed by the city architect, Harold Rowe, in the Modernist style, built in concrete and glass and was opened as "St George's Hall" in 1960.

The central section featured a tall brick structure with diamond-shaped decoration, to which the city coat of arms was fixed at first floor level, flanked by full-height concrete pillars supporting a perforated beam.

The architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, was unimpressed with the design and described it as "a rather tatty effort in a belated Festival of Britain spirit".