[3] The new building was designed by the Liverpool architects F & G Holme in the Neoclassical style[4] and intended to accommodate the quarter sessions of the West Derby Hundred of the historic county of Lancashire: it was built between 1882 and 1884.

[2][5] The building closed as a judicial facility[6] in 1984 when the Crown Courts moved to Derby Square.

[8][9] After the Merseyside Museum of Labour History closed in November 1991,[10] the building was used by the Walker Art Gallery for offices for staff and for storage.

[1] Although its appearance is Neoclassical, its style is described as being "late Victorian" and "derived from Renaissance Venice rather than ancient Greece and Rome".

At its front is a portico with eight paired Corinthian order columns, above which is a frieze bearing the inscription "COUNTY SESSIONS HOUSE".