The Earliest Tolbooths: a Preliminary Account Geoffrey Stell*
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Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 111, 1981, 445-453 The earliest tolbooths: a preliminary account Geoffrey Stell* 197county e burge th 5 Ma th d n yhI an cease maiserve o dt th ns ea agencie locaf so l govern- men Scotlandn i t , and, with their passing, architectural historian usefulln sca y begi tako nt e full stock of the buildings that were designed or adapted to meet the needs of these long-established local authorities. Municipal architectur s besi e t represente e tolbootth y db r tow o h n house publie th f burghwhiche co th lifb f eo hu , , tendebeine th t gepitomisa o d t wealthe eth selfe th , - esteem and the organisation of the community that it served. The vast majority of town houses in Scottish burghs are of 18th century and later date, and there are now only just over 20 surviving tolbooths that date either wholly or in part from the period prior to the Union of Parliaments in 1707 limite e thif o Th .s m briedai f accoun preseno t s i t t their general historica architecturad an l l background as an aid to the further study of this small but important group of early public buildings1. Tolboot r tolloneumho literally mean boothe sth , stal r offico l t whica e tollse hth , duties customd an s were collected t wasi ; othen i , r words taxe office r customs-collectorth o -th ,f o e . The vernacular term first seem appeao slatee t th rn i rmedieva 16te th l h periody centurb d an , y the tolbooth had also absorbed the meaning of the term pretorium, a council chamber or justice- seat2. Whateve titles rbuildinit e thiy th , b s d timgha e becom facusuan e i th t l meeting-placf eo the burgh council, the seat of the burgh court, as well as doing service as the burgh prison. e constructioTh maintenancd an n tolboote e responsibilitth th f s eo hwa e burg th f hyo magistrates; expenditur buildine th n eo g generall e Commoth yf o cam t n ou eGoo r froo d m stents, and usually appears in the 'common works' section of the burgh accounts. It was not unknown for burgesses to carry out common works in person, and in early 15th-century Aberdeen, for example, the town council resolved that every man in rotation should give a day's labour for the construction of the pretorium or should commute his services to a payment of 4d3. The standard method of performing these works, however, was by the burgh treasurer making direct payment fro generas mhi l revenue materialsr sfo , equipmen craftsmen'd an t s wages e burgTh . h treasurer's accounts can thus furnish details about the building or repair of the tolbooth, and the council minutes might include reference to tenders for building-contracts4. Like the burgh court books, they might also contain other indirect mentio tolboothe th f no vere th ,y buildin whicgn i h the records were being compiled and kept. In accordance with its importance in municipal government, the tolbooth usually occupied centraa l positio burghlayoue e th th f n ni o t, principa e ofteth n i n l stree adjacend e an t th o t t market-place externae Th . l appearanc e buildinth f alss o e oa mattegwa f civio r c pridd an e prestige amond an , richee gmorth d ran e pretentious burghs naturaa ther s ewa l desir posseso et s a building that was up to the minute in the architectural fashions of the day. The earliest surviving tolbooths which, wit possible hth e earlier exceptio portioa buildinf e no th f no Crailgn i , date from the second half of the 16th century, are akin to contemporary tower houses in their general * Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, 52 Melville Street, Edinburgh 446 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1981 characte proportionsd an r . Durin followine gth g century tolbooths gradually assume morda e formal and carefully architected Classical appearance, hence the quality and dignity of the successive town-houses designe r Linlithgowdfo , Stirlin Dumfriesd s sheea gan r rfa archio S . - tectural splendour was concerned, however, the earlier and perhaps trend-setting tolbooth in Glasgo wtravellee eyerivalson seeme s edge it f th o sth n havn o reo st I . d 's thiae ha ver swa y sumptuous, regulated, uniform fabrick, larg loftyd ean , most industriousl artificialld yan y carved fro e vermth y foundatio e superstructureth o t n e greath to t ,admiratio f strangero n d an s traveller thi. s. State-house tolboothr o , theis i , r western prodigy, infinitely excellin modee gth l usuad an l built [sic] f town-hallso , withouis d an ; t exception paragoe th , beautf nwesto e th n y;i whose compeer is no where to be found in the north, should you rally the rarities of all the corporation Scotland'n si objece th f thif 5o tO . s lavish praise onl lofte yth y seven-storeyed steeple now remains, bereft of the main block which was demolished in 1921. Whateve outwars rit d appearanc decorativd ean e trappings tolboote th , essentialls hwa ya functional building, and specific public requirements governed its design and layout. Whilst accommodating various public utilitie se tow th suc ns a hguard-hous d weigh-housean e e th , tolbooth's principal functions were expressed architecturally by three major components: the towe r steepleo r councie th ; l chambe rcommoe blockth d an ;n prison. Apart from serving as a conspicuous symbol of municipal authority, the tower or steeple normally house town'e dth s belsometimed lan clocks a proportio a d ;an earlie e th f no r tolbooths, as wel s soma l e later town houses, still retain their 16th d 17th-centuran - y civic bells, either re-cast or in their original form. The idea of a civic bell-house and the use of a bell in the organi- sation of the affairs of the merchant guild in Scottish Berwick went back at least to 1284 when it was ordained among their statutes that the guild brethren be summoned together by the ringing obela f l 'in Berefredo' (the bell-house); similarly 142n i ,provos e 4th bailied an t f Aberdeeso n mentioned the custom of convening meetings in the town house at the sound of a bell6. Although the towers of the earliest tolbooths share some of the characteristically massive and apparently defensive features of contemporary tower houses, it is difficult to know whether this was a deliberate attempt to create a municipal place of strength, or was, as seems more likely, just simply an all-pervading form of prestigious building in the 16th century. Moreover, t alwayno s i s t i clear whether these towers were originally conceive s self-containedda , free- standing units. But, whateve originss rlateit e th r y samyeare ,b th f es o centur tolboote yth h tower had generally become an integral part of a larger design, attached to a lower, horizontally- planned council chamber block. This main block r 'councio , l house', containe maie dth n public meeting-room officesd san : the council chamber itself, the burgh court room, the clerk's offices, and the strong-room. It was generally two or three storeys in height, although Glasgow's rose to no less than five. The principal rooms were usuall firse th t n flooryo , where they migh reachee tb d directl externan a y yb l forestair. This tolbooth stair was, likmercae eth t cross venua , generar efo l proclamationsd an , subjects that were being disputed within were sometimes brough tethered staie an t th r o ro dt tolbooth door until the issue was settled. The forestair appears to have been most commonly of stone construction, and in one recorded7 commotion in Paisley in 1605 'sundrie stanes of the Tolbuithe stair were dung doune' when some recalcitrant criminals fiercely resisted arrest . The interiors of the main public rooms were usually well appointed, being decorate8 d in fashionable style with painted ceiling later so r with panellin plasted gan r ceilings. Some provision was also storage madth r displad efo ean civif yo c plat ceremoniad ean l insignia absence th n I . e of a consistent series of detailed measured drawings, however, there is still much to be learnt abou e dispositioth t d relativan n ee variou th size f o s s rooms e counciTh . l chamber would STELL: THE EARLIEST TOLBOOTHS | 447 customarily be relatively large and spacious, but some court rooms were of much more modest dimensions specimeA . n examine Soutn di h Queensferry r instancefo , s foune onlb wa ,yo t d about 10-12 feet (3-0-3-6 m) square on plan and contained an open balustraded screen. The court room in the tolbooth of the chief burgh of the shire also came to serv9 e as the meeting-plac counte th f eo y sheriff burgcourte th f welhs o s a s courtsearle a l th yy B .16t h century the sheriff cour beinf s Fifo t ewa g held regularl tolboote th l county al n yi t f Cuparho no t bu , towns possessed a tolbooth at this date10. In Edinburgh the old tolbooth was pressed into service meeting-placnationa e fo s burge th r t th onlshirewa d r no ,hd an yfo Lorde an , th f Sessiof eso o n and the Scottish Parliament.