[1] The building was designed by Thomas Johnson in the Greek Doric style as the local prison and completed in 1783.

[1] It was extended and modified by Henry Couchman in 1793.

[1] After the prison moved to Cape Road in 1860, the building was converted into barracks for the 1st Warwickshire Militia Regiment in 1860.

[2] Immediately prior to the First World War, the divisional headquarters of the South Midland Division was located in the building.

[2] It was decommissioned in 1930 and subsequently integrated into the Shire Hall complex when the complex was extended in 1932.