[2] The design involved an open ground floor and an upper storey supported on 15 tapered oolite columns.

[3] The ground floor was the venue for local butter and cheese markets[4] and the upper storey served as both a council chamber and a courthouse.

[8] By the late 19th century, the building was in an extremely dilapidated state and under threat of demolition, before being extensively restored by Thomas Lansdown,[9] on behalf of the socialite, Lady Meux and her husband, in 1889.

[1][a] The restoration included the removal of both the "blind house" under the stairs and the storage facility for the hand-worked fire engine, thereby creating a completely open space on the ground floor.

[14] The museum subsequently built up a photographic collection covering life in Wootton Bassett during the 19th and 20th centuries[15] as well as a ducking stool dating from 1686,[16] geological items, stocks, and a whipping post.