This week we take a look at the building that dominates Melksham town centre - the Town Hall.

It was built in 1847 as a cheese market and, as our 1907 picture shows, the Bath stone building, constructed by Bradford on Avon builder D Jones, takes pride of place in the Market Place.

The building was commissioned by the Melksham Market Company and was built in the orchard of Place House an old manor house now long gone.

In 1898 the Melksham Market Company was wound up. In 1914 the building came into government ownership, becoming the offices of the Melksham Urban District Council.

When it was built, the prodigious building had open arches in the lower floor. Today some of the arch openings have been filled in with brickwork and top windows after the space was converted into offices for the council.

The left-hand arch is missing, now the entrance to the Assembly Rooms and the swimming pool, but the right-hand arch is still intact.

The stone posts have been moved back 20 yards, forming an entrance to Melksham House.

When our historic picture was taken the town fire station was housed within the second arch, next to 31 Market Place, once Melksham's police station.

On the left of our archive picture is the International grocery store, which later became a Bransons car showroom. It is now a recruitment agency. Railings used to flank the town's Market Place but now only two posts remain, outside the town hall.

The Market Place has always been home to businesses, which have included Edward Bush the chemist; John Rowlett grocer and draper; Mrs Marion Dowdry, harness maker; James Hughes chemist; John White millinery and Frank Hayward hairdressers. Today it is still a busy part of the town supporting different types of shops, from video hire to jobs agencies.