[1] The building was commissioned to replace an earlier market house which was completed in 1561,[2][3] and demolished for the purpose of widening the High Street in 1785.

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of 11 bays facing onto the high street.

[8] However, the use of the building as a corn exchange declined significantly in the wake of the Great Depression of British Agriculture in the late 19th century.

[11][12] The building continued to serve as the local seat of government until the council acquired a house called Southfields at 265 High Street in 1927 and converted it to be its offices and meeting place.

[15] The glazing was removed later in the century and replaced by a series of retail stalls which were recessed from the cartilage of the building.