The first municipal building in Gosport was an ancient market hall and courthouse in the Middle Row which, in its original form, was a gift from the Bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois, in the 12th century.

The new town hall and market house was designed in the neoclassical style, built in brick with ashlar stone dressings at a cost £15,000 and was completed in 1812.

[7][8] In the early 1960s, civic leaders decided to demolish the remains of the market house and to erect a new town hall on the south side of the High Street.

[9] The design involved a rectangular five-storey main frontage with a pair of two-storey wings jutting out towards the High Street to form a courtyard.

The main structure was faced with curtain walling and was supplemented by a curved formation containing the council chamber, which was cantilevered out to the west and allowed vehicular access at ground floor level.