Built in 1883 to replace old prisons in Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Stranraer, this castellated building was the work of Major-General T.B. Collinson, the architect and engineer to the Scottish Prisons Department. The original purpose of the prison was to house male and female remand and convicted prisoners from SW Scotland and the building, having undergone many alterations and changes of use, still works as prison today, serving a very important role in the rehabilitation of convicts.