The building was commissioned by a local merchant and banker, George Shaw Petty, who adapted a barn, erected some years earlier, and extended it to create a house in 1825.

The work was carried out to a design by James Wright Grundy in the neoclassical style, involved the provision of a cement render finish and was completed in 1904.

The left hand section of five bays (the original structure) was slightly projected forward and flanked by full-height Doric order pilasters.

[1] The building continued to serve as the local seat of government until the enlarged South Lakeland District Council was formed at Kendal in 1974.

The works, which were undertaken by Leck Construction[8] and financed by Homes England, the housing association and the district council, also involved the restoration of the wooden sash windows and entrance doors.