Publication Account
Date 1996
Event ID 1018344
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018344
The 18th-century town-house is situated N of the parish church, at the NW end of an island block known as the Mid Row, and facing NW up Market Place. It is a three-storeyed rectangular structure of harled rubble measuring 6.7m across the main (NW) front by 12.9m along the side-walls. A straight forestair rises to the main doorway at first-floor level in the NW end-wall, and the gable above carries a rectangular clock-tower capped by a pyramidal slated roof. The doorway has a heavily-moulded Gibbs surround and above it there are two blind oculi. These features have evidently been renewed, but early views show that they follow the original forms. Both NE and SW fronts have simple openings placed asymmetrically, with a ground-floor doorway at the centre of the SW wall.
The ground floor now consists of two barrel-vaulted cells, but appears originally to have been divided into three by a cross-wall to the centre of the present NW cell. The construction of a small vestibule inside the SW doorway, and the rebuilding of the fireplace in the SE wall ofthe SE cell, may be ascribed to the early 19th century. The space below the forestair, which was originally entered from the NW cell, contains a small window-less cell known as the 'black hole'.
The first floor, which was used as the court-room and council-chamber, has a blocked fireplace in its SE wall and inserted storage-cupboards at the NW end. Access to the second floor, which rises into the roof-space, is provided by a wooden staircase entered from the first-floor vestibule. This vestibule area is enclosed within masonry piers rising from ground-floor level to support the clock-tower, which contains a bell said to have been renewed in 1790.
HISTORY
In 1543, in a period of English raids and invasions, the town council of Lauder ordained that there should be a watchman 'on the tolbuith heid'. An English agent reported in 1598 that 'Lord Home yesterday came to Lauder and burnt the tolbooth and took out and killed one WilIiam Lawther that with his brethren had lately hurt one John Cranston, who before had killed their father'.
In 1729 the 6th Earl of Lauderdale gave the burgh £100 for the repair of the school and the tolbooth, and a new clock was made for the steeple in 1735. In 1770 the thatched roof was replaced with slates, but very extensive work was required in 1773 when the building was reported as being ruinous and dangerous, and plans and estimates were obtained by the town council. While council minutes refer to the 'repairing' of the tolbooth, £160 was borrowed for the work, and contracts were made with two wrights and two masons. The appearance of the building suggests that it was largely rebuilt at this time, perhaps re-using earlier masonry and following the original plan. It continued to be used as the town jail until 1843.
Information from ‘Tolbooths and Town-Houses: Civic Architecture in Scotland to 1833’ (1996).
