Warrington Town Hall has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building and the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner has declared it to be 'the finest house of its date' in the region. The Town Hall was originally a country house known as Bank Hall and was commissioned in 1750 by a Warrington merchant and landed gentleman called Thomas Patten. It was designed by James Gibbs, the architect of Radcliffe Library at Oxford and many other great buildings. From its dating it would seem likely that it was the last important building erected to Gibbs’ designs and finished in his lifetime. In 1872 Warrington Corporation bought Bank Hall and it became the new Town Hall. The building and its two annexes are still used today for civic functions, weddings, council business and as offices. A selection of paintings from the collection of Warrington Museum & Art Gallery are displayed throughout the building.