Portree Sheriff Court

The post of Sheriff of Skye dates back at least to 1223, when Paul Balkason was serving in that role under King Haakon IV of Norway. By the late 17th century, records show that the local laird, Sir Donald Macdonald, 3rd Baronet maintained a sheriff court, to keep his subjects in order. In the mid-19th century, court officials decided to commission a dedicated courthouse for the town. The site they selected was on the southwest side of Somerled Square. The new building was designed by James Matthews and William Lawrie in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1877. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Somerled Square. The…