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| Location | Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire |
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| Coordinates | 56°57′39″N2°12′08″W / 56.96074°N 2.20210°W /56.96074; -2.20210 |
| Security class | Originally used as a courthouse and then a prison |
| Opened | late 16th century by George Keith |
| Website | Stonehaven Tolbooth Website |
TheStonehaven Tolbooth is a late 16th-century stone building originally used as acourthouse and aprison in the town ofStonehaven,Aberdeenshire,Scotland.[1] Constructed of localOld Red Sandstone, the prison probably attained its greatest note, when three localEpiscopalianclergymen were imprisoned for holding services for more than nine people (a limit established to discourage the Episcopalianreligion in the mid-18th century).[2] Lying midway along the old northquay of the StonehavenHarbour, the present day Tolbooth serves as alocal museum with a restaurant on the floor above the ground floor.[3] It is acategory A listed building.[4]
The Stonehaven Tolbooth is thought to have been founded byGeorge Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553–1623), with the original purpose of the rectangular building being as a storehouse. In 1600, anAct of Parliament provided that the building become atolbooth;[5] text of that act reads: "Theshiref of the shiref-dome ofKincardin in all time cum sall sit and hald their courtis at Stanehyve". After 1624, the town business functions were conducted on the upper level of the Stonehaven Tolbooth, with the ground floor being used as the prison.[6]
By 1685, there are further accounts of the Stonehaven Tolbooth functioning as the seat of justice for all ofKincardineshire (the former shire of this district that was eventually subsumed into Aberdeenshire). Over the winter of 1748–1749, three Episcopalian clergy were incarcerated for the crime of holding a religious ceremony to more than nine people at the (now ruined)chapel situated on the estate grounds of nearbyMuchalls Castle along the ancientCausey Mounth.[7] The Episcopalians were associated with theJacobite cause and discriminated against by the rulingHanoverians. The imprisoned clergymen's plight was memorialised in a well knownpainting, illustrating abaptism of aninfant through the bars of the prison. The painting belongs to thediocese atBrechin.[8]
Episcopal services were held in the Tolbooth from 1709, when Dunnottar parish church became part of theChurch of Scotland, until an Episcopal meeting house was erected in Stonehaven High Street in 1738.[9]
When new countygovernment facilities were built in Dunnottar Avenue in 1767, the Stonehaven tolbooth reverted to its earlier humble use as a storehouse.[10][11] In 1963, the Tolbooth was in need ofrestoration,Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother officially opened it in September 1963 which resulted in the present day use configuration of alocal museum on the ground floor and a restaurant on the above level. The museum displays objects relating to local history and the Tolbooth's existence, including a wooden model of the local war memorial.[12]
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The original rectangular building was constructed with the long axis being east–west, with a length of 18.9 meters The construction is of Old Red Sandstone, a locally derived stone that was used in other local buildings of the same period such asMuchalls Castle.[13] A 17th-century north wing was added nearly at right angles to the original block.[4] Thegables of the original rectangular block arecrow-stepped, with achimney on the west end.[4]
The north block (17th-century addition) floor retains originalflagstones andcobblestones dating to the original north block. There is also a sizablefirepit along the west wall of the north block wing, although the associatedchimney above has been filled, rendering the fireplace unusable. At the ground level a partial stone wall partition separates the two large chambers belonging to the 16th and 17th centuries.Arrow slits on the south facing 16th-century wall are original; however they have been filled in.[4]
Settlements and places of interest inKincardine and Mearns,Aberdeenshire | ||
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| Primary settlements |  | |
| Other settlements | ||
| Places of interest | ||
