We start our new series of Then and Now in Warminster with a look at one of the town's most important buildings - the Town Hall.

The Town Hall was built on the corner of the Market Place and Weymouth Street in 1830 in Jacobean style by Edward Blore for Lord Bath.

It replaced the old Town Hall which stood in the High Street in front of what is now The Athenaeum.

This building, erected in 1711, was demobilised in the mid 1800s as it was considered it obstructed the traffic too much.

The new Town Hall was the venue of most of the social and business events of the town.

Lord Bath retained the freehold until 1904 when he conveyed it to the Urban District Council as a gift to the town.

By 1907 the lower room was in use as a court room for monthly Petty Sessions, Quarter Sessions and County Courts.

It was built with one cell for women with a closet nearby and six cells for men with similar arrangements.

The upper rooms were used for various public meetings.

Throughout most of the 20th century the building was a focal point of the town and council meetings were held there up to 1974, when it was replaced as a civic centre by the Assembly Hall.

It was taken over in the mid 1970s by Wiltshire County Council and the building continued to be used as the magistrates court and various other activities including blood donor sessions.

As late as 1982 a new courtroom was opened in the old ballroom but when the Petty and Quarter sessions transferred to Trowbridge in 1991 the building no longer performed any civic function.

Despite changes of owners over the last two decades the building now lies empty.