[3][4] The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the chairman of the South Stockton local board of health, John Steel, on 25 October 1890.

[5] It was designed by James Garry of West Hartlepool in the Renaissance style, built by W. C. Atkinson and was officially opened as Thornaby Town Hall in 1892.

[1] However, Nikolaus Pevsner said that the town hall exhibited "a totally undistinguished design on a visually most unsuitable site", in his 1933 The North Riding (Buildings of England) book.

[6] The quarter-chiming clock, which was made by Potts of Leeds[7] and donated by the first mayor of the town, Alderman William Anderson, was started on 27 January 1892.

[11] The consultation resulted in Thornaby Town Council, which had been formed in 1995,[12] agreeing to acquire the building in May 2012[13] and completing the transaction in November 2012.