The town hall was built on the site of the ancient parish church of St Peter which dated back at least to the early 14th century.

[1] The church was badly damaged in a great fire which swept through the town in 1762,[2] and the remaining structure was restored and converted for use as a municipal building in 1768.

[3] It accommodated a school, a lock-up for petty criminals and a butcher's shop as well as a civic meeting room.

[1] By 1866, the building had become dilapidated and the mayor, Freeland Filliter, wrote to the Prince of Wales, seeking funds for a new cupola.

[1] The current structure was designed by George Rackstraw Crickmay of Weymouth in the Gothic Revival style, built in red brick with stone dressings at a cost of £1,500 and was completed in 1870.