Description

The Tolbooth is a landmark building in Forres, jutting out into the street at its highest point and providing a focal point to the High Street. Built on the site of an earlier structure, the current building dates from 1838–39 and was built by William Robertson in the Scots Baronial style. It is a three-storey courthouse and jail with an imposing three-stage clock tower and belfry with a crowning cupola and weather vane. The building was closed to the public in 1991 and is now unoccupied apart from a couple of offices used by Moray Council. The courtroom is also used occasionally for community council meetings. The Forres Heritage Trust wishes to acquire the Tolbooth on a long lease, undertake the necessary repairs and restore it as a community facility.