Building record MHG9037 - Dingwall Tolbooth

Summary

No summary available.

Location

Grid reference Centred NH 5495 5878 (27m by 43m)
Map sheet NH55NW
Geographical Area ROSS AND CROMARTY
Old County ROSS-SHIRE
Civil Parish DINGWALL

Map

Type and Period (4)

Full Description

NH55NW 4 5495 5877.
Burgh Court House {NAT} OS 25"map, Ross-shire, 1st ed. (1876)

Dingwall Town Hall is a massive example of 17th c. tolbooth. It is still used as municipal courthouse and stands on N side of main street. The upper part of the tower or belfry was added in the beginning of 19th c.
D MacGibbon and T Ross 1892.

Outside Tolbooth and beside the Market Cross, is an iron "yett" (gate) from former. This is a well-preserved example of a 17th c. Dingwall blacksmith's work.
N Macrae 1923.

Extensive alterations were made to Town Hall of Dingwall in 1905 and 1925 (W S Dewar, Town Clerk). 17th c. Tolbooth is now incorporated in the Town Hall building.
Visited by OS (W D J) 17 April 1963.

A symmetrical, two-storey oblong block with centrally placed tower flush with main frontage; of 17th c origin but substantially remodelled 1732-3 and altered in 1782, jail was finally declared unfit to receive criminals in 1830.
G Stell 1981.

ARCHITECT: John Boag asked to prepare model of the same kind as at Forres

New steeple (based on older one) to the design of WC Joass as part of a major upheaval of the property, when the height of the steeple was increased and the present half-timbered panelled effect introduced at the lower storey. Undertaken 1902-5 the improvements consisted of a new frontage to the building with symmetrical pavilions and a ceremonial balcony, and a substantial wing to the rear on Church Street which housed the town’s public library, a large public hall and meeting rooms. The appearance of the building to the rear has been diminished by the addition of modern stair towers to improve means of escape. The front part of the building houses the Dingwall Museum while the accommodation to the rear is presently underused. Joass’s Church Street elevation to the rear is carefully articulated with good carved architectural detail and inscriptions. Good use is made of crowstepped gables, a feature which had been apparent in the gables of the old building. The building survives in a largely authentic state. <1>

Sources/Archives (9)

  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Stell, G. 1982. 'The earliest tolbooths: a preliminary account', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 111 1981, p.445-53. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 445-53. 450.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: MacGibbon, D and Ross, T. 1887-92. The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries. Hardback. Vol. 5, 102-3.
  • --- Text/Publication/Volume: MacRae, N. 1923. The romance of a royal burgh: Dingwall's story of a thousand years. xvi ff.
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Taylor, A. 02/2010. A Collection of Highland Buildings and Monuments. Colour. Yes. Digital.
  • --- Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1996. Tolbooths and town-houses: civic architecture in Scotland to 1833. . p 70.
  • --- Text/Publication/Article: Stell, G. 1986. Architecture and society in Easter Ross before 1707. SHG1943. 99-132. 128.
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Dingwall Town Hall, facade. Digital Image. .
  • --- Image/Photograph(s): Dingwall Town Hall. Digital Image. .
  • <1> Text/Report: Wright, A P K. 2010. Dingwall Conservation Area: Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Andrew P K Wright. Digital.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

May 26 2017 2:17PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the Heritage Portal maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.