[6] Tension boiled over into violence and a number of protesters broke through the police line and forcibly entered the town hall.

Shortly after a number of violent clashes took place, with the town hall being stormed by the crowd and eventually set on fire.

The remains of the building were demolished in August 1919 and the statue "Peace", which was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and inscribed with the names of dead servicemen from the First World War, was unveiled in 1922.

[1] The competition was won by Bradshaw Gass & Hope from Bolton with a neoclassical style design incorporating Art Deco features.

[11] Many of the interior features were designed to recall images from the town's coat of arms, which was carved in stone above the main entrance, the bee, the wheatsheaf, the rose and the thistle.