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The town was provided with a Guildhall by Richard Edgcumbe MP in 1741, a year before he became Lord Edgcumbe. The Hall itself is in the upper level of the building, resting on an arcade of three arches over what was originally a corn market. The corn market was closed-in towards the end of the 19th century and has been used for shops and a fire-station, before becoming the Town Museum in 1971. The steps lead up to the Guildhall which used by the Town Council for its meetings until 2015.
The Guildhall is an impressive wood-panelled hall with a dais on which is the Mayor’s official seat, with the Town Clerk’s seat immediately below it. The walls hold a list of Lostwithiel’s mayors and are lined with photos of earlier councils and a magnificent portrait of Lord Edgcumbe, dated from 1760 and attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Meetings of the town council and other civic functions were held in the Guildhall until 2015, when it was closed for maintenance and repairs. It is hoped that council meetings will soon return to the Guildhall and that it will find otherpublic uses.
The room at the back of the Museum was the town gaol , known locally as ‘The Cage, and the original entrance is still visible between the barred prison window and the steps leading to the Guildhall entrance. The bars were removed for scrap during the Second World War, but never taken away, so were replaced at a later date. The Museum itself contains much of interest and is well worth a visit.