Tolbooth, High Street, Sanquhar

The first municipal building in Sanquhar was an early tolbooth which dated back to the late 15th century and was already in a dilapidated condition by the 1680s. The condition of the old tolbooth became so bad that, in June 1731, the burgh council decided to demolish it and to replace it with a new building on the same site. Construction work on the new building started on 17 February 1735. It was designed by William Adam in the Baroque style, built using stone taken from Sanquhar Castle at a cost of £120 and was completed in 1739. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing southeast down the High Street; the central section of three bays, which was slightly…