Publication Account

Date 1996

Event ID 1018157

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018157

This building, now known as the High Courts, was erected to a Greek Revival design by William Stark in 1810-14, and extensively reconstructed by J H Craigie in 1910-13. It was built at the W side of Saltmarket, which at that time was being extended S to the River Clyde, and its main front looked E over the Laigh Green, now known as Glasgow Green. The building included the municipal offices until 1844 when they were moved to Wilson Street. In 1995 major alterations were in progress to accommodate four new court-rooms on an adjacent site to the W.

Stark's E front included a massive central hexastyle Doric portico with sculptured pediment. This was flanked by two-storeyed five-bayed wings terminating in single-bay end blocks having paired pilasters and high blocking-courses. Craigie 's remodelling retained the main structure of the frontage, but stripped it of many of its ornamental features, including much of the distinctive horizontal channelling of the sandstone ashlar, and introduced new window-architraves. The original court-room had a colonnaded apse, and some of the columns from this were re-used in the two court-rooms of 1913.

HISTORY

In 1807 the inadequacies of the jail within the tolbooth led the council to select a site on the Laigh Green for 'a new jail, County Hall, Council Chambers, Clerks ' Chambers and other conveniences' Stark's design was chosen in 1810 after a limited competition with David Hamilton and Robert Reid, and it was agreed to finance the building by the sale of the tolbooth and by revenues from the Broomielaw quay. It was completed in 1814 at a total cost of £34,811 which was met by the Corporation.

The prison-accommodation, which was situated round a courtyard to the W, soon became insufficient. The building was remodelled for use exclusively as law-courts by Clarke and Bell in 1845 after the municipal offices moved to Wilson Street. It was completely reconstructed as the Justiciary Courts by J H Craigie for Clarke and Bell in 1910-13.

Information from ‘Tolbooths and Town-Houses: Civic Architecture in Scotland to 1833’ (1996).