Kirkwall Sheriff Court is a judicial structure in Watergate,
Kirkwall,
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, Scotland. The structure, which was the headquarters of
Orkney County Council and is currently used as a courthouse, is a Category C
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
History
The first judicial building in Kirkwall was the old town hall in the grounds of the
St Magnus Cathedral which was erected with a grant from
James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton in 1745. The building accommodated the county offices and courtroom as well as the burgh council offices. However, by the early 1870s, the building was very dilapidated, and it was decided to establish a dedicated courthouse. The site the sheriff selected was in the grounds of the
Earl's Palace.
[
The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 22 June 1876. It was designed by David Bryce in the ]Scottish baronial style
Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...
, built in coursed sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
at a cost of £3,900 and was officially opened on 27 August 1877. David Bryce died in 1876 and execution of the design was overseen by his nephew, John, who worked with him in later life.
The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of four bays facing north towards Palace Road. The second bay on the left, which was slightly projected forward, featured a doorway with a moulded surround and a panel above; there was sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...
on the first floor with a corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
ed and crow stepped gable above. The outer bays were fenestrated with sash windows; the left hand bay was surmounted by a stepped gable while the first floor windows in the right hand bays were surmounted by gablets. The east and west gables contained tablets depicting the arms of Bishop Robert Reid and Bishop Edward Stewart. Internally, the principal room was the courtroom which featured the royal arms of Scotland
The royal arms of Scotland is the official coat of arms of the King of Scots first adopted in the 12th century.
With the Union of the Crowns in 1603, James VI inherited the thrones of England and Ireland and thus his arms in Scotland were now Qua ...
carved in wood and mounted on a navy blue oblong panel.
Following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, which established county councils in every county, the new county leaders needed to identify offices for Orkney County Council. The new county council established its offices in the building which became known as "County Buildings". After the abolition of Orkney County Council in 1975, the building was used solely for judicial purposes: it continued to be used for hearings of the sheriff court and, on one day a month, for hearings of the justice of the peace court.
Notes
See also
*
References
{{reflist
Government buildings completed in 1877
County halls in Scotland
Category C listed buildings in Orkney
Court buildings in Scotland