[1] The new local board of health for Tormoham, as the area was then known, treated the commissioning of a town hall as a key priority after it was formed in 1850.

[2][3] The building was designed by a Mr Dixon in the Italianate style, built in limestone and was completed in June 1852.

[7] Following significant population growth, largely associated with the status of Torquay as a seaside resort, the area became a municipal borough with the town hall as its headquarters in 1892.

[10] However, in the early 20th century, with the increasing responsibilities of local authorities, civic leaders found the building too small for their needs, and the council relocated to the new town hall further to the northwest along Union Street in 1911.

[11] The old town hall was subsequently used as office space until the mid-1950s when the first floor of the building was converted for use as a synagogue by the Torquay United Hebrew Congregation.