[1] The current building has its origins in a pair of identical, late 18th century, neoclassical style houses; the left hand building was once occupied by a local clinician, Dr Livingstone, and the right hand house was once occupied by the former East Indiaman commander, John Wordsworth, who was a cousin of the poet, William Wordsworth.

[4] The Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, made a contribution of £1,200 towards the cost of the construction to support the inclusion of a public library.

[1] The fourth bay on the left, which was also elaborate and also slightly projected forward, featured a short flight of steps leading up to a doorway with a fanlight flanked by pairs of Corinthian order columns and, beyond that, Corinthian order pilasters supporting an entablature inscribed with the words "Town Hall" and a balustrade; there were two round headed windows on the first floor flanked by columns and pilasters supporting a modillioned cornice and, at roof level, there was a dormer window with a broken pediment and a pair of urns.

[7] During the Second World War staff in the town hall administered the accommodation arrangements for the many thousands of people evacuated from the south east to Cumberland and Westmorland and a civil defence reporting centre was also established in the basement.

[12] After considering, in January 2018, a plan to erect a modern extension on a car park at the rear of the site,[13] the council decided instead, in March 2021, to appoint consultants to develop an alternative proposal involving the redevelopment of the town hall as a creative asset.