[1] The building was commissioned to replace a medieval two-storey thatched market hall, where corn and seed merchants had traded, on the south side of The Square.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Lieutenant-General Sir George Adams of Oakhampton Hall on 8 September 1941.
It was designed by the Somerset county surveyor, Richard Carver in the Italianate style, built in buff brick and was officially opened on 3 August 1842.
In 1929, it was purchased by the Taunton Co-operative Society, which converted the ground floor for retail use, while retaining the assembly room as an events venue.
The two-storey section is fenestrated by large round headed sash windows, surmounted by a pediment with a clock in the tympanum.