MHG9037 - Dingwall Tolbooth
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (5)
- (Former Type) TOWN HOUSE (Post Medieval - 1560 AD to 1900 AD)
- TOLBOOTH (In use, 17th Century to 20th Century - 1601 AD? to 2000 AD?)
- TOWN HALL (In use, 18th Century to 20th Century - 1723 AD? to 2000 AD?)
- COURT HOUSE (In use, 19th Century to 20th Century - 1801 AD? to 2000 AD?)
- (Former Type) LIBRARY (In use, 20th Century to Unknown - 1903 AD)
Protected Status
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>
This building was also formerly a Carnegie Library, opened in 1903. It was recorded as part of a project to identify Carnegie places in Scotland. <2>
Sources/Archives (10)
- --- SHG1651 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.
- --- SHG2442 Text/Publication/Volume: MacGibbon, D. and Ross, T.. 1887-92. The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Hardback. Vol. 5, 102-3.
- --- SHG2489 Text/Publication/Volume: MacRae, N. 1923. The romance of a royal burgh: Dingwall's story of a thousand years. xvi ff.
- --- SHG25366 Image/Photograph(s): Taylor, A. 02/2010. A Collection of Highland Buildings and Monuments. Colour. Yes. Digital.
- --- SHG2679 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1996. Tolbooths and town-houses: civic architecture in Scotland to 1833. . p 70.
- --- SHG3139 Text/Publication/Article: Stell, G. 1986. Architecture and society in Easter Ross before 1707. SHG1943. 99-132. 128.
- --- SHG7768 Image/Photograph(s): Dingwall Town Hall, facade. Digital Image. .
- --- SHG7769 Image/Photograph(s): Dingwall Town Hall. Digital Image. .
- <1> SHG23282 Interactive Resource/Online Database: Historic Environment Scotland. Canmore.
- <1> SHG26877 Text/Report: Wright, A P K. 2010. Dingwall Conservation Area: Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Andrew P K Wright. Digital.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 5495 5878 (27m by 43m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH55NW |
| Geographical Area | ROSS AND CROMARTY |
| Civil Parish | DINGWALL |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB24506 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/315000/dingwall-church-street-former-carnegie-library (Link to online HES Canmore record)
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