Formerly known as the Market House, the brick built town hall near the Bedford Arms, (now the Inn at Woburn), was constructed in 1830 by John, the 6th Duke of Bedford, on the site of the old Market House. This had been completed in 1737 as a butchers shambles, although the corn market was held in the upper room. At the demolition of the old building – a ‘stately and lofty’ three storied structure – the bell from the large, arched cupola on the apex was transported for safekeeping to Park Farm, but from there it would be unfortunately stolen! The architect of the new building was E. Blore, F.S.A., but also supposedly included was a nearby octagonal watch tower, which was possibly brought from the church. In 1884, under the direction of the architect of the nearby church, Henry Clutton, the interior of the building was then refitted, with a new door added to the west front, plus a porch and a window above. Amongst other employments the building would then be used for magistrates meetings and concerts, with an enlargement of the premises undertaken in 1912 by the 11th Duke of Bedford, Herbrand. For many of their local buildings the Dukes would favour locally made bricks, and in fact on an early Ordnance Survey map of the town two ‘Old Clay Pits’ are shown within the Park, with another situated southwest of the town. Since at least 1772 Robert Carey, of Woburn, supplied brick and tiles to the Duke of Bedford, and after his death in 1777 the enterprise was carried on by his farming brother, George. He died in 1783 but his widow, Sarah, continued to provide bricks and tiles until her marriage, in 1785, to a widower from Caddington, John Clayton, who operated the concern until at least 1789. For the building of the early estate houses, in order to maintain a consistent colour the brick concerns were paid extra to hand pick the necessary specimens, although whenever the need arose this direction could be countermanded, such as in 1829 when the 6th Duke of Bedford wrote to his steward; ‘Hasten building of double cottage at entrance to Woburn – if Crawley bricks not satisfactory colour, they can subsequently be lime washed.’