[3][4] After the justices complained that the old market house and assize hall was cold and uncomfortable, civic leaders decided to procure a new building: the site selected, which was to the south of the old market and assize hall, had been occupied by a Canonical House used by former archdeacons.

[3] An Act "for building a new Assize or Town Hall and Market House, within the City or Borough of Wells, in the County of Somerset; and for regulating the Markets within the said City or Borough" was approved by Parliament in March 1779.

[5] The new building which was built by Edmund and William Lush of Salisbury in the neoclassical style and paid for by public subscription was completed in late 1779.

[6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with nine bays facing onto the Market Square; the central section of three bays, which projected forward and featured arcading on the ground floor with tall sash windows on the first floor and a pediment above, was added in 1907.

[6] The town hall served as the meeting place of Wells Municipal Borough Council for much of the 20th century[7] but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged Mendip District Council was formed in 1974.