For much of the 20th century, the main venue for serious criminal court hearings in Bedfordshire was the Shire Hall in Bedford.

The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department was on "Market Hill",[2] and had been occupied by two shops: No.

[4] The new building was designed by the Property Services Agency in the Modernist style, built in buff brick at a cost of £10 million,[5] and was completed in 1991.

The central bay featured a recessed opening containing a doorway at ground level, a wall faced in stone and bearing a Royal coat of arms on the first floor and a row of windows at attic level.

The right hand section was formed by a three-storey circular tower with casement windows on each floor and a flat roof.