[3] The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Kate Mitchell, the wife of a mining engineer living at Bolton Hall,[4] on the day of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, 22 June 1897.

There were pairs of bi-partite segmental headed windows on the first floor and at attic level, flanked by full height pilasters and surmounted by a moulded pediment with finials.

The outer bays were fenestrated by tri-partite segmental headed windows on both floors and surmounted by a balustraded parapet, with a mansard roof behind.

[5] A memorial plaque to commemorate the lives of local service personnel who had died in the Second Boer War was attached to the north-west side of the building in around 1902.

[9] The building continued to serve as the town hall for much of the 20th century, but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council was formed in 1974.