[1] The building was commissioned in the mid-19th century with financial support from Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke, whose seat was at Wimpole Hall, as a mechanics' institute for the town.

[3] The design involved a rectangular building with a tall main frontage facing onto Melbourn Street.

The doorway and window were flanked by pairs of full-height pilasters supporting an open modillioned pediment with a date stone in the tympanum.

[7] The building was also used for public meetings: in March 1910, the writer, Redcliffe N. Salaman, spoke in the hall during his unsuccessful attempt to secure a seat as a Liberal Party candidate for Hertfordshire County Council.

[11] A major programme of refurbishment works, which involved the creation of a community cinema, to be known as the "Royston Picture Palace", was completed in 2013.