Stonehaven Tolbooth

The Stonehaven Tolbooth is thought to have been founded by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553–1623), with the original purpose of the rectangular building being as a storehouse. An act of Parliament, the (c. 51 (S)) provided that the sheriff of Kincardine would sit and hold their courts 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. By 1685, there are further accounts of the Stonehaven Tolbooth functioning as the seat of justice for all of Kincardineshire (the former shire of this district that was eventually subsumed into Aberdeenshire). Over the winter of…

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 as Muchalls Castle. A 17th-century north wing was added nearly at right angles to the original block. The gables of the original rectangular block are crow-stepped, with a chimney on the west end.