[1] A moot hall was built in Sutton Coldfield during the time of John Vesey, Bishop of Exeter, at a site at the top of Mill Street.

It was demolished following structural instability caused by the collapse of an upper floor due to the weight of crowds attending the funeral of Thomas Dawney in 1671.

[6] The current building has its origins in the Royal Hotel which was built in 1865 on a small hill above the newly opened railway station to serve the needs of visitors to the town.

Lieutenant Colonel Wilkinson purchased the hotel in 1896 and converted it for use as a sanatorium,[7] but it was subsequently acquired by the Sutton Corporation for £9,000 in December 1901.

The old town hall, in Mill Street, was sold in February 1903 and the Corporation began an ambitious extension to the former hotel to provide a purpose built town hall comprising council chambers, assembly rooms and a fire station.

[11] The Town Hall itself remained under the ownership of Birmingham City Council as a public arts venue.

The design by Francis-Doyle Jones was selected by the Sutton Coldfield District Council committee in November 1919 and he promised not to produce a model like it anywhere else in Warwickshire and in only two other locations in the rest of the United Kingdom.

The memorial was intended to be unveiled on 31 August 1922, however, delays caused by the stonemason set this date back to 1 November.