The Guildhall, Portsmouth was constructed in a massive Italianate classical style and completed in 1889 to designs by William Hill of Leeds following similar designs to his town hall in Bolton, and the Leeds Town Hall designed by Cuthbert Broderick. It was bombed during the war and the interior completely rebuilt after the war in 1958. Pevsner has described it as "...one of the grander gestures of Late Victorian municipal pride. There is little or nothing else of the period in provincial England south of the Midlands to compare in scale."

Burrell Foley Fischer undertook a development study with Stephen Browning Associates (Cultural Business Management Consultants), Winton Nightingale (Catering Consultants) and Davis Langdon (Cost Consultants) to explore options for the re-use of the building, to make it more accessible and welcoming to the public and to present a new vision for the use of this historic building. In August 2009, The Council approved the recommendations of the study report and decided to proceed with the first phase of the redevelopment.