Leaving the close behind us we travel further into Warminster town centre and take a second look at the Town Hall for this week's Then and Now.

The Town Hall was built on the corner of the Market Place and Weymouth Street in 1830 in Jacobean style by Edward Shore 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 to obstruct the traffic too much.

On Monday, May 28 great festivities took place at the town hall to mark its opening.

Meat, bread and beer was distributed to the poor in the morning and the gentlemen of the neighbourhood invited to dine at the new building in the afternoon at a cost of one guinea each followed by a grand display of fireworks.

At the time 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, July Quarter Sessions and County Courts and 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 seventies by Wiltshire County Council and the building continued to be used as the Magistrates Court until 1991 when the court was transferred to Trowbridge.

In 1996, after changes of ownership and many years of decay the building was purchased by a "mystery offshore client".

But sadly today the building has decayed further and is only home to pigeons.