The first civic building in the market place, a market and assize hall, was completed in 1548. It was paid for in part by the
Bishop of Bath and Wells,
William Knight, and in part from a legacy left by the former
Dean of Wells,
Richard Woleman. 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. 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. 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. but ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged
Mendip District Council was formed in 1974. It then became the meeting place for Wells City Council, the local parish council for the area. The court of assizes continued to be held in the building until October 1970. and magistrates' court hearings continued to be held in the building until 2010. a portrait by
Peter Lely of
King James II (as Duke of York) and a portrait by
Anthony van Dyck of Bishop
Robert Creighton, as well as a more recent portrait by Arthur Hayward of Admiral
Sir James Somerville. ==References==