A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottishburgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three essential features in a Scottish burgh, along with the mercat cross and the kirk (church).
The word tolbooth is derived from the Middle English word tolbothe that described a town hall containing customs offices and prison cells.[1]
Historyedit
Burghs were created in Scotland from the 12th century. They had the right to hold markets and levy customs and tolls, and tolbooths were originally established for collection of these.[2]Royal burghs were governed by an elected council, led by a provost and baillies, who also acted as magistrates with jurisdiction over local crime. The tolbooth developed into a central building providing for all these functions.[3] Most tolbooths had a bell, often mounted on a steeple, and later clocks were added. As well as housing accused criminals awaiting trial, and debtors, tolbooths were also places of public punishment, equipped with a whipping post, stocks or jougs. The tolbooth was occasionally a place of execution, and where victim's heads were displayed. The tolbooth may also have served as the guardhouse of the town guard. Other functions provided in various tolbooths included schoolrooms, weighhouses, storage of equipment and records, and entertainments.[4][5]
The first record of a tolbooth is at Berwick upon Tweed in the later 13th century, and the earliest known grant of land for construction of a tolbooth is at Dundee in 1325, with many more grants recorded through the 14th century.[6] The oldest tolbooths which survive intact are those of Musselburgh (1590) and Canongate (1591). The tolbooth of Glasgow (1626) has been described as Scotland's "most remarkable civic building of the 17th century". Other Renaissance-style tolbooths were erected at Linlithgow (1668) and Kirkcaldy (1678). By the 18th century, the term "tolbooth" had become closely associated with prison, and the term "town house" became more common to denote the municipal buildings. Classical architectural styles were introduced, as at Dundee (1731) and Sanquhar (1739). In the early 19th century, increasing separation of functions led to purpose-built courthouses and prisons, and the replacement of tolbooths and town houses with modern town halls, serving as council chamber and events venue.[6] The prison functions of tolbooths were overseen by prison boards from 1839, but the jail cell in the Falkirk Steeple remained in use until 1984.[7]
Presentedit
There are around 90 tolbooths surviving in Scotland.[8] Many are still used as municipal buildings, while others have been renovated as museums, theatres, or other attractions.
Mair, Craig (1988). Mercat Cross and Tolbooth: Understanding Scotland's Old Burghs. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN0-85976-196-7.
"Burgh tolbooths and early prisons". Scottish Archive Network Knowledge Base. Scottish Archive Network. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
January 01, 1970
tolbooth, confused, with, tollbooth, other, uses, disambiguation, tolbooth, town, house, main, municipal, building, scottish, burgh, from, medieval, times, until, 19th, century, tolbooth, usually, provided, council, meeting, chamber, court, house, jail, tolboo. Not to be confused with Tollbooth For other uses see Tolbooth disambiguation A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh from medieval times until the 19th century The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber a court house and a jail The tolbooth was one of three essential features in a Scottish burgh along with the mercat cross and the kirk church An etching showing the Old Tolbooth Edinburgh before it was demolished in 1817 Musselburgh Tolbooth in East Lothian Crail Tolbooth in Fife Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Present 4 See also 5 References 6 SourcesEtymology editThe word tolbooth is derived from the Middle English word tolbothe that described a town hall containing customs offices and prison cells 1 History editBurghs were created in Scotland from the 12th century They had the right to hold markets and levy customs and tolls and tolbooths were originally established for collection of these 2 Royal burghs were governed by an elected council led by a provost and baillies who also acted as magistrates with jurisdiction over local crime The tolbooth developed into a central building providing for all these functions 3 Most tolbooths had a bell often mounted on a steeple and later clocks were added As well as housing accused criminals awaiting trial and debtors tolbooths were also places of public punishment equipped with a whipping post stocks or jougs The tolbooth was occasionally a place of execution and where victim s heads were displayed The tolbooth may also have served as the guardhouse of the town guard Other functions provided in various tolbooths included schoolrooms weighhouses storage of equipment and records and entertainments 4 5 The first record of a tolbooth is at Berwick upon Tweed in the later 13th century and the earliest known grant of land for construction of a tolbooth is at Dundee in 1325 with many more grants recorded through the 14th century 6 The oldest tolbooths which survive intact are those of Musselburgh 1590 and Canongate 1591 The tolbooth of Glasgow 1626 has been described as Scotland s most remarkable civic building of the 17th century Other Renaissance style tolbooths were erected at Linlithgow 1668 and Kirkcaldy 1678 By the 18th century the term tolbooth had become closely associated with prison and the term town house became more common to denote the municipal buildings Classical architectural styles were introduced as at Dundee 1731 and Sanquhar 1739 In the early 19th century increasing separation of functions led to purpose built courthouses and prisons and the replacement of tolbooths and town houses with modern town halls serving as council chamber and events venue 6 The prison functions of tolbooths were overseen by prison boards from 1839 but the jail cell in the Falkirk Steeple remained in use until 1984 7 Present editThere are around 90 tolbooths surviving in Scotland 8 Many are still used as municipal buildings while others have been renovated as museums theatres or other attractions Some notable tolbooths include Aberdeen Tolbooth built in 1629 Canongate Tolbooth built in 1591 Crail Tolbooth re modelled in 1776 Dysart Tolbooth built in 1576 Edinburgh Tolbooth a medieval building on the Royal Mile built around 1400 demolished in the 19th century Girvan Tolbooth built in 1787 of which the steeple is the only remaining part Glasgow Tolbooth built in 1627 of which the steeple is the only remaining part Inverkeithing Tolbooth built in 1770 Kirkcudbright Tolbooth built in 1629 now used as an art gallery and visitor centre Lanark Tolbooth built in 1778 Musselburgh Tolbooth built in 1590 New Galloway Tolbooth rebuilt in 1875 but dating back at least to 1711 Pittenweem Tolbooth built in 1588 Sanquhar Tolbooth built in 1739 South Queensferry Tolbooth remodelled in 1720 Stirling Tolbooth built in 1705 Stonehaven Tolbooth built in the late 16th century Tain Tolbooth built in 1708 West Wemyss Tolbooth built circa 1700See also editTholsel term for buildings with a similar function in Ireland Tron a weighing device situated near tolbooths for defining taxation on goods Wikt Tolsey a term for a similar English buildingReferences edit tolbooth www merriam webster com Retrieved 9 March 2018 Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland RCAHMS p 1 RCAHMS pp 4 5 RCAHMS p 5 Mair p 46 a b RCAHMS p 2 Mair p 48 RCAHMS pp 16ff Sources editRoyal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland 1996 Tolbooths and Townhouses Civic Architecture in Scotland to 1833 Edinburgh Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland ISBN 0114957991 Mair Craig 1988 Mercat Cross and Tolbooth Understanding Scotland s Old Burghs Edinburgh John Donald ISBN 0 85976 196 7 Burgh tolbooths and early prisons Scottish Archive Network Knowledge Base Scottish Archive Network Retrieved 24 April 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tolbooth amp oldid 1131155757, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
