Local Government Offices

The Local Government Offices, which also include Public Offices and a Market Hall facing High Street, were built in 1879, while the Free Library facing Jacktrees Road was established in 1894. The building is constructed of coursed, squared rubble set on a chamfered plinth, with rough-dressed stone except for the architraves and carved details. It features string courses and an eaves cornice, with pilasters that end in an eaves band. The hipped roof is covered with graduated slate and has corniced stone chimneys and a moulded cast-iron gutter.

The structure is symmetrical and consists of a single tall storey with cellars, arranged in five bays. There are dog-leg steps leading up to a central panelled door, which has a semicircular fanlight in an architrave with a diapered soffit, and a cast-iron lamp bracket above. The doorcase is flanked by polished granite columns that support a pediment. On either side of the door, there are two tall sash windows in architraves, with a panel below the sill; the cellar features blocked two-light mullioned windows. The Free Library has a similar construction and design but is less decorative, with "FREE LIBRARY" carved in sans-serif on the frieze.