[2] In the 1880s, the local board decided that the town needed a municipal building, and a wealthy cloth merchant, Sir William Roger Brown, offered to pay for it to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

"[4]The new building was designed by Alfred Samuel Goodridge of Bath in the Jacobethan style,[5] built in ashlar stone at a cost of £20,000, and was opened by the Duchess of Albany on 14 June 1889.

[7] The building was also equipped with police cells for people facing trial and an area to the rear of the town hall was landscaped to create a "Sensory Garden".

[8][11] The ballroom was used for local dances and musical events, and in the 1960s performers appearing there included the rock bands Rod Stewart and the Soul Agents, in December 1964,[12] The Who, in April 1965,[13] and Small Faces in August 1965.

[22] Works of art in the town hall include a bust by Edward Sheppard depicting the benefactor, Sir William Roger Brown,[23] as well as portrait of him by an unknown artist.