Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury: Overall view

In 2004 the building underwent a \u00A31.7 million restoration, having been previously restored in 1904. The OMH is a scheduled monument. There is now a clock in place of the topmost north gable window in this view. The statue below is the Duke of York.\u000a\u000aShrewsbury is a historic market town with the town centre having a largely unaltered medieval street plan. The Old Market Hall is an Elizabethan building situated in the town centre, built in 1596. The Hall, an example of Late Tudor influence with primarily Elizabethan architecture, had two storeys: the large upper room was originally used by the Shrewsbury drapers or dealers in cloth to sell Welsh wool and the lower floor was used by farmers to sell their corn. The Old Market Hall was one of the earliest forms of prefabricated buildings; it was erected in less than four months. It bears the Royal Coat of Arms of Queen Elizabeth I, with the date of 1596, and the supporters are the English Lion and the Welsh dragon. On the North side of the Old Market Hall there is a statue of the Duke of York; it is the only one in the whole country. It is thought the OMH was designed by Walter Haycock. It is a municipal center today.