The structure, which was originally a coaching inn and later served as the local corn exchange as well as the main hotel in the town, is a Grade II listed building.

[2][3] In the 1840s, the building began to serve as the local corn exchange and, at that time, the left-hand section of three bays was refaced in ashlar stone such that it slightly projected forward onto the Market Square.

Meanwhile, the right-hand section of two bays remained faced in rubble masonry with more basic finishes.

[6][7] The use of the building as a corn exchange declined significantly in the wake of the Great Depression of British Agriculture in the late 19th century.

[12] It came into the ownership of Bass Charrington in the 1960s,[13] by which time it was the largest hotel in the town.