At roof level the second and fourth bays featured shaped gables containing small mullioned windows.

The building also featured a prominent tower at its southeast corner with a clock, octagonal cupola and spire.

[2] Following population growth, largely associated with the local railway carriage works and iron manufacturing, the area became an urban district with the municipal buildings as its headquarters in 1894.

It initially took the form of a Mark IV tank which had been manufactured by Oldbury Carriage Works and donated by the War Office.

A permanent war memorial, in the form of a cenotaph, was erected by John Dallow and Sons and unveiled by General Sir Ian Hamilton on 4 November 1926.