The timber framed Great Hall is the original Guildhall of the Guild of Corpus Christi dating back to c. 1390. On the ground floor of the west wing (c.1490) is the Mayor’s Parlour, a smaller civic room, remodelled in 1563. The room is oak panelled and the portraits are recorded in the Borough Records accounts in the early 17th century. The Great Hall was often used as a courtroom and the Jury Room above the Mayor’s Parlour was the retiring room for the jury after Quarter Sessions; a room was fitted out as the Recorder’s Bedroom in 1581 (the room is a reconstruction of the original). The first police force was established in 1836 and a house was built for the Chief Constable and in the Guildhall were three cells. With the building of a new Town Hall in 1876, the Guildhall was then used for several purposes but fell into disrepair. Following a major renovation programme the restored building was opened as a museum in 1926.