[2] After the civic leaders decided the guildhall was too small they selected the old cattle market as the site for the new building.

[4] The new building was designed by Francis Hames in the Queen Anne style and was opened by the Mayor, Alderman William Barfoot, on 7 August 1876.

[4] A German bomb crashed through the town hall roof and fell through several floors to the basement without exploding on the night of 19/20 November 1940 during the Blitz.

There are very strong similarities, which suggests that the Val d’Osne foundry copied the Leicester fountain for the Porto installation.

[4] Also located in the Town Hall Square is the Second Boer War Memorial which was sculpted by Joseph Crosland McClure and unveiled by Field Marshal Lord Grenfell on 1 July 1909.