County Buildings is a municipal structure in the High Street,

Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

, Scotland. The complex was the headquarters of Ross and Cromarty County Council and is currently used by

The Highland Council The Highland Council (' ) is the local authority for Highland, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council is based at the Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness. History The Highland area had been created as an administrative ...

as offices for the provision of local services.

History

The Ross and Cromarty

Commissioners of Supply Commissioners of Supply were local administrative bodies in Scotland from 1667 to 1930. Originally established in each sheriffdom to collect tax, they later took on much of the responsibility for the local government of the counties of Scotland. ...

served as the main administrative body for the county from 1667 until 1890 when the county council was created and took over most of the commissioners' functions. In the early 19th century, the commissioners met at 63–64 High Street but moved to the courthouse in Ferry Road once it was completed in 1845. Following the implementation of the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 50) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland. In this it fol ...

, which established county councils in every county, the new county leaders needed to identify offices for Ross and Cromarty County Council. The county council initially operated from the courthouse in Ferry Road, but moved to the Old Academy Buildings in Tulloch Street in the 1930s. However, in the early 1960s, the council leaders decided that they needed purpose-built accommodation: the site they selected in the High Street had been an old military depot. The new building was designed by C. Porteous of the Ross and Cromarty County Council Architects' Department in the modern style, built in brick with a buff render and was completed in 1965. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing onto the High Street. The main frontage featured an entrance bay, which was located to the right of the centre and which projected forward; the entrance itself, which was constructed from steel and glass, was slightly recessed, flanked by coursed stone and surmounted by slate tiles set into a gable. The wings to either side of the entrance bay were fenestrated by

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a c ...

s which were set out in a regular pattern on two floors. Behind the main frontage there was another wing extending northwards which was built and fenestrated in the same style. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber. After the abolition of Ross and Cromarty County Council in 1975, ownership of the main building passed to

Highland Regional Council The Highland Council (' ) is the local authority for Highland, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council is based at the Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness. History The Highland area had been created as an administrative ar ...

and, following the introduction of

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

in 1995, ownership based to

. It subsequently continued to be used by the council as offices for the provision of local services.

References

External links

*{{commonscat-inline Government buildings completed in 1965

Dingwall Modernist architecture in Scotland 1965 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures in Highland (council area)