This carved black and white timber building was formerly a Market House built in 1633 by the King’s carpenter, John Abel. It once stood at the junction of Broad Street until an Act of Parliament around 1852 decreed it a traffic obstruction. It was sold to Mr Arkwright, of the Spinning Jenny family as a private residence and moved to its present location in 1855. When it came up for auction in 1939, the council bought it for Council Offices to prevent its sale and export to an American buyer.
