Clackmannan Tolbooth
{{short description|Municipal building in Clackmannan, Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Clackmannan Tolbooth
| native_name =
| image = Clackmannan Tolbooth and Clock Tower - geograph.org.uk - 1559589.jpg
| caption =The building in 2008
| locmapin =Scotland Clackmannanshire
| map_caption =Shown in Clackmannanshire
| coordinates ={{Coord| 56.1073 |N| 3.7524|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location =Main Street, Clackmannan
| area =
| built =1680
| architect =
| architecture = Scottish medieval style
| governing_body =
| designation1 =Category A Listed Building
| designation1_offname = Clackmannan Tolbooth, Mercat Cross and Clackmannan Stone, Main Street, Clackmannan
| designation1_date =9 June 1960
| designation1_number =LB1947
| website=
}}
Clackmannan Tolbooth is a former municipal building on Main Street in Clackmannan in Clackmannanshire in Scotland. The building, of which only the clock tower survives, is a Category A listed building.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB1947|desc= Clackmannan Tolbooth, Mercat Cross and Clackmannan Stone, Main Street, Clackmannan |cat=A|access-date=14 September 2024}}
History
The building was commissioned by the sheriff of Clackmannan, Sir William Menteith, who had previously been required to hold court hearings in the open air and to keep prisoners in his own house.{{cite web|url= https://www.clacks.gov.uk/visiting/clackmannan/ |title= Tolbooth Cross and the Stone of Mannan|publisher= Clackmannanshire Council| access-date=14 September 2024}}{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_2isluuLTeYC&pg=PA267 |title=The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland 1622–1625|page=267|volume=XIII|publisher=H. M. Stationery Office|year=1896|first=David|last=Masson}} The erection of the tolbooth was authorised by Act of Parliament, and the site he selected was at the west end of Main Street adjacent to the ancient mercat cross.{{canmore|desc= Clackmannan, Main Street, Mercat Cross |num=48318| access-date=14 September 2024}}
The tolbooth was designed in the Scottish medieval style, built in rubble masonry and completed in 1592.{{cite web|url= https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst189.html |title=Clackmannan|publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland| access-date=14 September 2024}} The original design involved a rectangular main block facing onto Main Street with stepped gables at either end. A five-stage tower was added to the west end of the main block in 1680. The first four stages contained small rectangular openings while the fifth stage contained a round headed opening with louvres. A clock was installed at the top of tower and the whole structure was surmounted by an ogee-shaped roof and a weather vane. A bell, donated by Sir Lawrence Dundas, was installed in the tower in 1765.{{cite web|url= https://www.clacks.gov.uk/council/press/?release=4603 |title= Restoration of Clackmannan Tolbooth begins|date=8 May 2024| access-date=14 September 2024}}
The building served as the county courthouse for Clackmannanshire and, although very dilapidated by the early 19th century,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgxNAAAAYAAJ |title= Clackmannan and the Ochils: An Illustrated Architectural Guide |first= Adam|last= Swan |year=2001|publisher=Rutland Press|isbn= 978-1873190531 |page=8}} it continued to operate in that role until hearings were transferred to the old Assembly Rooms in Alloa in 1822.{{Historic Environment Scotland|num= LB20970|desc= Alloa Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, including boundary walls and railings and excluding 2-storey and basement office block to east, Mar Street and Drysdale Street, Alloa |access-date=14 September 2024}} The main block was subsequently demolished leaving just the clock tower and the stepped gable end standing. A whinstone boulder, known as King Robert's Stone or the Clackmannan Stone, which had originated from Lookaboutye Brae (just to the south of Clackmannan) and had been preserved in Clackmannan Tower for many centuries, was placed on top of a pedestal to the immediate south of the tolbooth in 1833.{{cite journal|last=Márkus|first=Gilbert|year=2008|title=Tracing Emon: Insula Sancti Columbae de Emonia|journal=Innes Review|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|volume=55|issue=1|page=3|doi=10.3366/inr.2004.55.1.1|url=http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/pdfplus/10.3366/inr.2004.55.1.1|url-access=subscription}}{{canmore|desc=Clackmannan, King Robert's Stone |num=48321| access-date=14 September 2024}}
The surviving tower remained a local landmark and the bell at the top of the tower continued to be rung every evening until 1939. However, by the early 21st century, the tower had become dilapidated. An inspection, carried out in December 2022, identified that remedial repairs were urgently needed.{{cite news|url= https://www.alloaadvertiser.com/news/23460639.urgent-necessary-repairs-needed-clackmannan-tolbooth-tower/ |title= 'Urgent and necessary' repairs needed for Clackmannan Tolbooth tower |date=20 April 2023 |newspaper=Hillfoots and Alloa Advertiser| access-date=14 September 2024}} A major programme of restoration works, involving restoration of the stonework, the bell, the clock and the weather vane, was carried out at a cost of approximately £400,000 in summer 2024. The work was financed by grants from Clackmannanshire Council and Historic Environment Scotland.{{cite news|url=https://www.alloaadvertiser.com/news/23563193.repairs-clackmannan-tolbooth-approved-clackmannanshire-council/ |title=Repairs to Clackmannan Tolbooth approved by Clackmannanshire Council |date=6 June 2023| newspaper=Hillfoots and Alloa Advertiser| access-date=14 September 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.alloaadvertiser.com/news/24305702.restoration-work-begin-clackmannan-tolbooth/ |title= Restoration work to begin on Clackmannan Tolbooth|date=9 May 2024|newspaper=Hillfoots and Alloa Advertiser| access-date=14 September 2024}}