The Courthouse

The Town House – the beginning

The Town House (what we now refer to as ‘the courthouse’) is a
Category B Listed Building.  It was designed by architect David Logan
of Montrose. The plans were drawn up in 1803 with the build taking
place between 1806 and 1808.
The building was designed in the Classical Revival style and the Town
House is a well-detailed example of a 19th century civic building.
The building was then altered by architect David Smith in 1884 when
a connection to the Guild Hall was made (as it is now) and the
creation of the pend from the High Street to Market Place.

Changes

The 1884 alterations included using part of the ground floor of the
Town House as a Courtroom.
After just a few years the Court was relocated to the former Trades
Hall and the space vacated became office space for the Burgh
chambers in about 1900.
Many original decorative details still remain in the building today. For
example, the plaster ceiling in ground floor hall as well as plaster
roundels in Council Chamber on the first floor. You will have walked
over the mosaic floor panel as you entered the building which shows
the 1802 Burgh coat of arms.

The Twentieth Century

In 1997 the Town House was taken over by Scottish Court Services
and converted into a Sheriff Courthouse. The adjacent Guild Hall was
purchased in 2000 to allow for court extension purposes. The Sheriff
Court reopened in 2001 after alterations and refurbishment to both
buildings.