[2] The new building was designed by Duncan Cameron of Inverness in the Italianate style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1885.

At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice and, above the right-hand bay, there was a parapet broken by a segmental pediment containing a carving.

[5] A pyramid-shaped tower, surmounted by a timber cupola with clock faces and with a weather vane, was installed above the left-hand bay in 1903.

[3] Sergeant Alexander Edwards of the 6th (Morayshire) Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders, who had been awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Pilckem Ridge on 31 July 1917 during the First World War,[6] attended a reception at the town hall on 4 October 1917 when he received a presentation from the burgh council.

[7] A three bay extension to the south to create a library was erected to a design by Reid & Wittet in 1904 and the complex was extended to the rear in 1931.