Clackmannan Tolbooth is a former municipal building on Main Street in Clackmannan in

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

in Scotland. The building, of which only the clock tower survives, is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The building was commissioned by the sheriff of Clackmannan, Sir William Menteith, who had previously been required to hold court hearings in the open air and to keep prisoners in his own house. The erection of the tolbooth was authorised by Act of Parliament, and the site he selected was at the west end of Main Street adjacent to the ancient

mercat cross A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...

. The tolbooth was designed in the Scottish medieval style, built in

rubble masonry Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wi ...

and completed in 1592. The original design involved a rectangular main block facing onto Main Street with stepped gables at either end. A five-stage tower was added to the west end of the main block in 1680. The first four stages contained small rectangular openings while the fifth stage contained a round headed opening with louvres. A clock was installed at the top of tower and the whole structure was surmounted by an

ogee An ogee ( ) is an object, element, or curve—often seen in architecture and building trades—that has a serpentine- or extended S-shape (Sigmoid curve, sigmoid). Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combination of two semicircle, semicircula ...

-shaped roof and a

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. A bell, donated by Sir Lawrence Dundas, was installed in the tower in 1765. The building served as the county courthouse for Clackmannanshire and, although very dilapidated by the early 19th century, it continued to operate in that role until hearings were transferred to the old Assembly Rooms in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

in 1822. The main block was subsequently demolished leaving just the clock tower and the stepped gable end standing. A

whinstone Whinstone is a term used in the quarrying industry to describe any hard dark-coloured Rock (geology), rock. Examples include the igneous rocks, basalt and dolerite, as well as the sedimentary rock chert. Etymology The Northern English/Scots term ...

boulder, known as King Robert's Stone or the Clackmannan Stone, which had originated from Lookaboutye Brae (just to the south of Clackmannan) and had been preserved in Clackmannan Tower for many centuries, was placed on top of a

pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

to the immediate south of the tolbooth in 1833. The surviving tower remained a local landmark and the bell at the top of the tower continued to be rung every evening until 1939. However, by the early 21st century, the tower had become dilapidated. An inspection, carried out in December 2022, identified that remedial repairs were urgently needed. A major programme of restoration works, involving restoration of the stonework, the bell, the clock and the weather vane, was carried out at a cost of approximately £400,000 in summer 2024. The work was financed by grants from Clackmannanshire Council and

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

References

{{reflist Category A listed buildings in Clackmannanshire Buildings and structures completed in 1680 Government buildings completed in the 17th century Listed government buildings in Scotland Court buildings in Scotland

History

See also

References