[1] A barmote court was established in the town in order to regulate the local lead mining industry in 1288 during the reign of Edward I.

[2] The first permanent building erected to accommodate the barmote court was a moot hall in the Market Place which was commissioned by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon, in 1773.

The outer bays were fenestrated by sash windows, beyond which there were stone panels, depicting various lead mining tools including a scales, a pickaxe and a trough.

[7][8] King Henry VIII presented a bronze dish, capable of holding 38.5 kilograms (85 lb) of lead ore, to the barmote court in 1512.

It was kept in the moot hall and was used by barmote court officials to ensure that the miners' dishes conformed to the required dimensions.