An evening in the town jail (sort of.)

The High Street from the Tolbooth

Whisky collection at the Tolbooth

Whisky jugs and optics

A member of the Writer's Group arranged for us to have a tour round the Tolbooth. Most of us have seen its main function room, the Court Room as it's used for local council meetings, but the extensive whisky collection in the basement was worth seeing. It was a chilly night, the 6 cells (empty or storing sundries) were forbiddingly bleak, but hospitality was laid on in the Board Room; hot tea, coffee, sandwiches and brownies much appreciated. We had a jolly time. It didn't inspire any odes in my personal Muse, but there's still time. I copy&pasted the following:

King David I had a bit of trouble bringing Óengus, Mormaer of Moray, into line with feu-paying, but defeated him in 1130, it is quite likely that Forres became a Royal burgh about that time.   These burghs were  a convenient place for the paying of feu and market duties so collection offices were set up near the town market place to collect the dues.   These would have been simple buildings, perhaps “toll bothies” becoming “tolbooths” in due course.

The loss of the original Royal charter and ancient records during the sacking and burning of the town by Alexander Stewart “The Wolf of Badenoch” in 1390 means that the early history of Forres and the Tolbooth is lost.   The first archival record referring to the Tolbooth is a proclamation made 1586, then in 1588 a reference is made to repairs to the building.   The records show that in 1619 it was being used “for sure keiping and deteining” of evil-doers and prisoners.   In 1655 the Tolbooth is a “thackit” ruinous building that cannot carry the roof until the walls are repaired.  Between 1671 and 1677 much masonry has been repaired and new structures added to form a three storey building.   By 1698 an agreement for major rebuilding work had been drawn up and “£333 1s 8p” had been provided by the merchants and burgesses for the project.  In 1708 a bell “not to be under 3 cwts.” is installed and in 1710 James Anderson receives 600 merks “for building the piramede of the Tolbiuth”.  Then, in 1711, James Broun is employed “for making a clock for the Tolbuith”.   By 1734, after some further work, Forres has a recognisably very impressive public building, which served the town well for the next century.

The nineteenth century building, like its ancestors, has been right at the centre of this ancient Royal Burgh.  There is evidence that it has evolved through many variations, dilapidations, reconstructions and expansions over the best part of 800 years.   The foundation stone for the new  Court House and Public Offices was laid in 1838 to establish the building in its present form.   The main feature of the Tolbooth is its impressive Court Room where once the town provosts made proclamations and magistrates made orders that unworthy citizens be detained in the adjacent prison building.  This Jail House has six cells and an exercise yard or "airing ground". We were told that it was a 'correctional' prison, not a 'punishment' establishment. They had facilities for torture and hard labour. 

I didn't sense a single ghost. Perhaps my chattering teeth put them off. No fun in moaning and clanking if someone's doing it already.