Established by the mid-17th century (and rebuilt several times since), it was used as a market house, a facility for dispensing justice and a meeting place for the local town council.

[2] The earliest mention of a building on the site was when a structure referred to as the "Market House", which contained a supply of arms, was seized during an uprising by a group of some 600 royalists in 1648 during the English Civil War; the revolt was put down by Sir Michael Livesey and his parliamentary troops.

[5] A new two-storey building of Portland stone, financed by Arthur Ingram, 6th Viscount of Irvine, was completed in 1721;[6] it was topped by a hipped roof and had a central clock turret.

As a result, in 1812, the building was partially rebuilt with funding from Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk:[2] a new north façade was added in the Norman style, and the ground floor was permanently enclosed to create a second court.

[4] By 1888 structural problems had re-emerged, leading to the Town Hall being more substantially rebuilt in 1888–89, again with support (this time from Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk).

[6][8] The Norman façade was retained (with alterations to the gable) but the building behind it was rebuilt to a design by J. Percy Gates, architect, of New Shoreham.