 The building was designed by the Lancaster architects Austin and Paley, and was the last public building to be designed by the practice before the death of Hubert Austin in 1915.It was completed in 1916, and was paid for by the lord of the manor, Colonel Foster.By the 1950s more accommodation was needed, and an extension was added to the rear in 1956, helped by a donation from Sir Harold Parkinson of Hornby Castle.