Following the granting of a charter to hold markets in 1594, the
lord of the manor at
Over Lypiatt,
John Throckmorton, decided to commission a market hall; the new building was designed in the
neoclassical style and completed in 1596. A
village lock-up was created in the basement of the building in the 17th century and a school was established on the first floor of the building in the early 18th century: the physicist,
John Canton, attended the school at that time. Part of the building was converted into a
tailor's spinning house in the late 18th century. and, after becoming the offices of the
local board of health, it was remodelled in the
gothic style with a large gable containing
mullion windows erected above the two central bays in 1856. Following an increase in the responsibilities of the council, civic leaders acquired the former offices of the Gloucester Banking Company in the High Street in 1930; the High Street building was converted for municipal use and was subsequently referred to as the "Council Chambers". The old town hall remained in municipal use even after the enlarged
Stroud District Council was formed in 1974. However, in 1986, the council acquired Ebley Mill, once the largest mills of its type in the south west of England, with a view to converting it for office use for council officers and their departments. Following the preparation of a feasibility study, a programme of improvement works was implemented at the town hall after the council moved out in 1988. Wall hangings created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the granting of a charter to the town were completed in 1994 and subsequently hung in the building. ==See also==