The Guildhall And Sessions Hall

The Guildhall and Sessions Hall, built between 1867 and 1869 by William Watkins, is a symmetrical building made of red brick with ashlar dressings. It features a high-pitched slate roof in a modified French style and has a main section that is two storeys high. The building is adorned with a stone moulded cornice supported by brackets and a brick parapet that includes stone panels with circular openings. Most windows are set within stone arches that have joined carved heads and half-column mullions with carved capitals. The centre of the building projects forward and has similar arches at the entrance. A tall clock lantern with a wrought iron coronet is also present. The flanking wings are two storeys tall but lower than the main section, and they have hipped roofs with four paired similar windows.

At the rear, there is a Sessions Hall constructed of red brick, featuring stone arched windows that match those of the main building. The interior of the Sessions Hall retains some original fittings, including an ornate panelled wooden balustrade for the public gallery, a canopy over the judge's seat, another ornate wooden balustrade, and its original roof.