Following its formation in 1869,[1] the Oswaldtwistle Local Board and Urban Sanitary Authority set about commissioning offices for the town's administration.

[2] The front section of the building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in rubble masonry and dated from that time.

William Edmund Holt, a public hall was erected behind the original building by contractors, W. H. Bury and A. Dichmont, to a design by the town surveyor, Robert Naisbitt Hunter, in 1891.

The venue was the original home of Jason Manford's comedy club, established in May 2014,[12] and the management of the arts centre was also responsible for reinstating the Oswaldtwistle Carnival, after a hiatus of 16 years, in June 2014.

[13] The comedian, Peter Kay, gave a surprise performance in the building in July 2015,[14] and the musician, Paul Young, took part in a concert there in March 2023.