Arbroath: Sheriff Court

The Town House of Arbroath was originally used as a burgh chambers and dates from 1803. It was designed by the Architect David Logan of Montrose. The building was altered in 1844 to the design of David Smith of Dundee. In 1880 it acquired a commercial neighbour of similar stature, known as the GuildryBuilding. This structure, originally of two storeys to the front and a single storey to the rear was substantially altered during its life and went through a series of phases of commercial use being at one time a bank. Arbroath Sheriff Court House formerly occupied the premises on upper floors of 80 High Street. This Courthouse dated from the 1880s and in its day saw a High Court sitting. By 1973 it was in poor condition and too cramped for Court purposes and it was decided to move the Court to the Town House. The Town House was first used as a Sheriff Court in the early 1970s and was substantially refurbished in the late 1980s remaining the property of the Local Authority and leased by the Scottish Court Service. Between 2000 and 2001, Scottish Courts were able to purchase the GuildryBuilding and extend the Courthouse into the upper floors of the building. Scottish Court Service also managed to purchase the Town House bringing the whole complex into SCS ownership. The Town House building and the Guildry Building have been substantially refurbished to provide an additional court room, cells, lift, new public counter, new open plan offices and additional witness, shrieval and jury accommodation. During the excavation of the basement to create storage it was discovered that Arbroath Sheriff Court stood partially on the foundations of an older building and partially on the bed of a local burn. Emergency grouting (pumping of liquid concrete) was carried out to stabilise matters and the Town House is now on a firmer footing than ever before. In the course of overhauling the Guildry Buildings above suspended ceilings a number of badly damaged ceilings were discovered and the ceiling in Court 2 has been substantially refurbished and is a attribute to the skills of the craftsmen who carried out the repair.It is a category B listed building.

Notes for Info.

Disabled toilet and lift and disabled parking bay outside court.
Parking is available in Angus Council car parks on Marketgate and High Street with others also close by.

Image (c) www. scran.ac.uk