A market hall has stood on the site since the 1260s. A new market hall, replacing the original structure, was erected on the site in 1567. The building was arcaded on the ground floor so that markets could be held, with an assembly room on the first floor. The arcading was formed by a series of
Tuscan order columns supporting
voussoirs. The first floor was fenestrated by
mullioned and
transomed windows. The central bay on both sides was projected forward: a Royal Coat of Arms of
Queen Elizabeth I, with the date of 1596, and the English lion and the Welsh dragon as supporters, was carved into the stone above the central arch on the west side. the current clock, installed in 1855, is by
Joyce of Whitchurch; it strikes the hours on a bell in a turret on the roof, and shows the time on a dial within the north gable. In the 17th century the assembly room was used by the
Shrewsbury Drapers Company to sell Welsh cloth and the lower floor was used by farmers to sell their corn. The lower part of the structure was subsequently used for a variety of purposes, including as an air raid shelter during the
Second World War while the assembly room was used as the town's magistrates court until a
new court complex was opened in Preston Street in 1994. The building then remained vacant and deteriorating until restoration work started in 2004. The building then underwent a major restoration, to the designs of Arrol & Snell and Glenn Howells Architects, to convert it into an arts venue and café, showcasing films and digital media. The restoration was completed at a cost of £1.7 million and the building re-opened on 19 January 2004. The first film to be shown in the new 81-seat auditorium was
My House in Umbria. ==See also==