Built in 1861, the Grade II listed Ashbourne Town Hall is located on the foundations of what was The Talbot Inn public house. This Inn was mentioned in Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton's novel, 'The Compleat Angler', where the book records a conversation at the Inn between two travellers: "What will you drink Sir, ale or wine? Nay, I am for the country liquor, Derbyshire ale, if you please; for a man shall not methinks come from London to drink wine in the Peak". The Talbot Inn was also the venue for the examination of witnesses in a legal case heard in January 1639, in which Sir Andrew Kniveton claimed he had been libelled by William Greaves.

In 1252, Ashbourne suffered a horrific incident when the town was substantially destroyed by a fire, as the Market Place was surrounded by timber framed buildings from the hilltop of Buxton Road to the bottom where The Greenman pub is, all of which were set ablaze. It's not known if anyone died from the fire, but given the area was covered in flame-fuelled wooden structures, there's a strong likelihood that some did. New town buildings came in later, among them including The Talbot Inn.

On the 3rd December 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie entered into Ashbourne Market Place and outside the Inn, he declared his father, James Edward Stuart, King James III and the rightful heir to the English throne. His troops were billeted in Ashbourne Park during the Winter.

The Talbot Inn was largely demolished in the mid 1800s, although the cellars of this place of precedence still remain. Ashbourne Town Hall was built in 1861 and originally was called The Market Hall, a name which can still be seen at the top of the front façade. It's constructed out of ashlar rock, a special type of material only found within the Peak District, and is in Italianate architectural style. In 1894 the area became an urban district, but rather than establishing offices in the Town Hall, civic leaders chose instead to erect offices for their officers and their departments on Compton Street in 1900. Next to the Town Hall is the Town Hall Yard, and as you walk through the tunnel entrance to it, you will see typical mid-Victorian workers' cottages.

On the 4th November 1930 a tragic accident occurred. Above the entrance to the Town Hall Yard used to be a firebell mechanism, which would've been rung to report a fire. The firebell would alert the fire crews to man the fire engine, which was kept at the rear of the George and Dragon pub opposite the Market Place. On this date, the firebell was rung, and would prove to be fatal for a certain 40 year old gentleman called Tom Fearn. Tom Fearn was about to walk through the alley entrance to the Town Hall Yard, when shockingly the balance bar to the firebell mechanism fell from its position, struck Tom on the head and killed him instantly on the spot before he could blink. What's even more heartbreaking, is that the firebell was a false alarm. The phone call was traced to Ellastone but the culprit was never discovered. A brass memorial is placed above the Town Hall Yard entrance in the same spot that he was killed, and some of his living descendents still live in Ashbourne to this day.

In 1973, the new Ashbourne Town Council established its offices in the Town Hall and began using it as a meeting place. It later established a tourist information centre inside too.