[2] The land selected for the new building, which was to the immediate south of the market cross, was donated by the lord of the manor, Charles Bathurst (1837–1907) of Lydney Park.

[2] It was designed by William Howard Seth-Smith in the Jacobethan style, built in rubble masonry and was officially opened by the benefactor's daughter, Mary Bathhurst, in September 1889.

[2][3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the corner of the High Street and Church Road; the central section of three bays, which was gabled, featured a recessed doorway with an ogee-shaped stone surround flanked by two-light mullioned windows.

The outer bays were fenestrated on the ground floor by three-light mullioned windows and the gable was surmounted by a finial.

[6] The assembly room continued to be used for public events and performers there included the rock band, The Beatles, who gave a concert in August 1962.