[5] In October 2011 the Freemen and Guilds of the City of Chester handed responsibility for the building back to the local council but secured continued access for banquets and other important functions.

[6] A new members' bar, branded as "The Guild Chester", opened in the guildhall in October 2019.

The tower has three stages with double doors to the east and above this a relief sculpture of Christ enthroned.

The third stage has two-light bell-openings, corner buttresses, a pierced parapet and a recessed octagonal stone spire with three lucarnes to each face.

The east window, dated 1885, is by Kempe,[9] and depicts God and major Old Testament figures and saints.