| Inveraray Jail | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Inveraray Jail | |
| Location | Church Square,Inveraray |
| Coordinates | 56°13′48″N5°04′20″W / 56.2299°N 5.0723°W /56.2299; -5.0723 |
| Built | 1820 |
| Architect | James Gillespie Graham andRobert Reid |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical style |
Listed Building – Category A | |
| Official name | Former Inveraray Court House, Crown Point, Inveraray |
| Designated | 28 February 1966 |
| Reference no. | LB35030 |
Listed Building – Category B | |
| Official name | Old Jail, Crown Point, Inveraray |
| Designated | 4 August 1966 |
| Reference no. | LB35034 |
Listed Building – Category C(S) | |
| Official name | New Jail, Crown Point, Inveraray |
| Designated | 4 August 1966 |
| Reference no. | LB35033 |
  Shown in Argyll and Bute | |
Inveraray Jail is a former prison and courthouse in Church Square,Inveraray,Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was built in 1820 and is a Category Alisted building. The prison closed in 1889 but the building remained in use as a courthouse until the mid-twentieth century, in which time it was also used for some meetings ofArgyll County Council. Since 1989 it has been a museum.[1]
| Inveraray Gaol and Courthouse Act 1814 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Act for erecting a new Gaol and Court House in the Burgh of Inveraray, in the Shire of Argyll. |
| Citation | 54 Geo. 3. c. cii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 17 June 1814 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
.jpg)
The building was commissioned by theInveraray Gaol and Courthouse Act 1814 (54 Geo. 3. c. cii) to replace the old town house on Front Street which dated from 1755 and which had been deemed too small.[2] The original plans for the new building had called for a courthouse and three prisons, one for males, one for females and one for debtors, but the scheme was deemed too expensive and was curtailed.[1]
The new courthouse was designed byJames Gillespie Graham based on initial drawings byRobert Reid in theneoclassical style, built inashlar stone and was completed in 1820.[1] The design of the courthouse involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Church Square. The central bay featured a doorway with afanlight on the ground floor and aVenetian window on the first floor. The outer bays were fenestrated with round headed windows on the ground floor,sash windows on the first floor and small oblong windows at attic level. All the windows on the first floor hadbalustrades in front of them and were flanked by pairedTuscan orderpilasters supporting anentablature, acornice and a balustradedparapet. The building was bowed at the back. Internally, the principal room was the main courtroom at the rear of the building on the first floor with views acrossLoch Fyne.[1]
A two-storey prison block, the "old prison block", which was also designed by Graham, was built incoursedrubble to the northeast of the courthouse and was completed at the same time as the courthouse.[3] Following the implementation of thePrisons (Scotland) Act 1839, which brought about various changes including the separation of prisoners, a three-storey prison, the "new prison block", which was designed byThomas Brown, was built in coursed rubble to the southwest of the courthouse and completed in 1845.[4]
ThePrisons (Scotland) Act 1877 brought in further changes, including the transfer of the management of prisons from local authorities to the UK Government and the closure of smaller prisons in favour of larger ones. After the prisoners had been transferred toBarlinnie Prison inGlasgow, Inveraray Prison closed in 1889.[5]
The courthouse was also used for meetings of the ArgyllCommissioners of Supply, which was the main administrative body for the county prior 1890.[6] Elected county councils were established in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889, and the new council needed to identify a meeting place.[7] The County Council's first meeting was held at the courthouse at Inveraray on 22 May 1890, when over three hours were spent debating where the council should meet thereafter, with proposals put forward in favour of meeting inLochgilphead, Inveraray,Oban,Dunoon, or evenGlasgow (despite the latter being outside the county). It was decided to meet at Dunoon between May and September and at Oban for the rest of the year.[8] The council did subsequently hold meetings in more places than just those two towns, including occasionally meeting at the courthouse in Inverary, but it established its main offices at Lochgilphead.[9][10]
By the mid-20th century the courthouse had become dilapidated and, in 1954, an order was made that there should be no more sheriff court hearings at Inveraray. Police and Justice of the Peace Court hearings continued for a while but, in 1962, Argyll County Council sold the courthouse.[11]
The courthouse complex at Inveraray was refurbished to a design by Ian Gordon Lindsay & Partners in 1965 and converted into a visitor attraction as "Inveraray Jail" in May 1989.[1][12]
the prison of Inveraray will be closed on 31st August
In 1962, the Argyll County Council sold the Court House and it was decided next year that Quarter Session Meetings of County Justices of the Peace, formerly held in the Burgh of Inveraray, should take place in Lochgilphead.
Media related toInveraray Jail at Wikimedia Commons
