The structure, which is the meeting place of East Cowes Town Council, is a locally listed building.

[1] Following significant population growth, largely associated with the shipbuilding industry, East Cowes became an urban district in 1894.

[3][4] It was designed by James Newman in the Italianate style,[5] built in yellow brick with stone dressings and was officially presented to the council by Mrs White on 25 March 1897.

[6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto York Avenue; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway with a fanlight flanked by stuccoed pilasters which were surmounted by acroteria; the pilasters supported an entablature inscribed with the words "Town Hall".

[8] On 2 January 1901, Field Marshal Lord Roberts, who had commanded the British troops during the Second Boer War, received welcome addresses from civic officials at the town hall[9][10] and, in his response, took the opportunity to express confidence in his successor in South Africa, General Lord Kitchener.