[1] In the mid-19th century, a group of local businessmen decided to form a company to raise funds for the erection of an events venue in the town: the site they selected on the west side of Bridge Street was owned by an individual, James Copeman, from whom they bought it for £30.

[2] The building was designed in the Jacobean style, built in red brick and was completed in time for the first court hearing on 10 August 1870.

[2] After the war the use of the building as an events venue declined and it was sold for commercial use: the company that had originally developed it was wound up in the 1960s.

[10] By the early 21st century part of the building was in use as a tourist information centre,[11] but it also accommodated a local hairdressing salon.

[12] A programme of works to convert three of its rooms into additional guest accommodation for an adjacent public house, The Swan, was completed in August 2017.