[2][3] After finding that the old town hall was too small for their needs, civic leaders decided to procure a new building; the site they selected had previously formed part of the grounds of St Mary Magdalene's Church.

[6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with thirteen bays facing onto Castle Circus with the end bays slightly projected forward; the central section, which also slightly projected forward, featured a portico with Doric order columns supporting an entablature with triglyphs and a coat of arms above; there was a Diocletian window on the first floor and a pediment and a three-stage clock tower above,[1] containing an electric clock by Messrs Gent of Leicester.

[1] During the First World War, the town hall was used as a Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment auxiliary hospital for wounded service personnel.

[9] Speakers in the main hall included the novelist, Arthur Conan Doyle, who lectured on "Death and the Hereafter" on 5 August 1920.

[12] Works in the town hall include a portrait of the former local member of parliament, Sir Lawrence Palk.