Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court

Until the late 19th century, court hearings were held in the old townhouse and jail at the junction of High Street and Tolbooth Street which was completed in 1826. After finding this arrangement unsatisfactory, court officials decided to commission a dedicated courthouse: the site they selected was on the south side of Whytescauseway. The new building was designed by James Ross Gillespie in the Scottish baronial style, built in rubble masonry at a cost of £9,000 and was officially opened by Sheriff Aeneas Mackay on 21 May 1894. After it opened, it was initially known as "County Buildings". The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Whytescauseway. The centre…