The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing onto Higher Market Street, with the first floor originally jettied out over the pavement.

[7] East Looe had a very small electorate and a dominant patron, John Buller of Morval House, which meant it was recognised by the UK Parliament as a rotten borough.

[9] The building continued to serve as the local seat of government until civic leaders decided that more substantial premises were required and a new guildhall in Fore Street was completed in September 1877.

An extensive programme of refurbishment works, which involved the conversion of both floors into museum space, was completed under the supervision of a local historian, Michael Maddock, in 1972.

[13] Exhibits accessioned to the collection include four landscape paintings by Samuel Cook, the town stocks and various artifacts associated with smuggling around Looe Island.