It was the likely location of the execution of Petronilla de Meath, a woman who was tried and found guilty, after torture, of heresy, and then flogged and burnt at the stake on 3 November 1324.

[2] By the mid-18th century, the earlier tholsel had become dilapidated and the borough council, led by Alderman William Colles, decided to commission a new building on the same site.

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing west onto the High Street.

The arcading was formed by voussoirs which were supported by piers at the corners, and by Doric order columns between the bays.

That evening, fireman Joe Stapleton was completing his duties as the Town Sergeant when he discovered a fire on the upper floor of the building.