[4] Following continuing increases in the responsibilities of the county council, county leaders chose to procure a new purpose-built Shire Hall for council officers and their departments: the site selected on the southern side of Forbury Gardens had been occupied by buildings associated with the Royal Berkshire Seed Establishment.

[3][6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto The Forbury; the ground floor, which was faced in Portland stone, featured a three-bay portico in antis with Doric order columns while the first and second floors featured casement windows with a red brick background.

[4] In 1981 the council moved to a new Shire Hall at Shinfield Park and subsequently the building was converted for commercial use.

[4] After renovations led by the Waterbridge Group, a developer, it re-opened as the Forbury Hotel in 2006.

[9] After being bought out of administration by Von Essen,[10] it was acquired by the Bird Group in 2017.