Hamilton Sheriff Court including boundary walls and railings, Almada Street, Beckford Street, Hamilton
Designated
5 February 1971
Reference no.
LB34470
Shown in South Lanarkshire
Hamilton Sheriff Court is a judicial building in Almada Street, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The building, which continues to serve as the local courthouse, is a Category A listed building.[1]
History
The first judicial building in Hamilton, which contained a council chamber, a courthouse and a jail, was built adjoining the old tolbooth at the junction of Castle Street and Palace Grounds Road and was completed in 1798.[2][a] By the 1830s, the tolbooth complex was very dilapidated and it was decided that "soon all be removed, except the steeple, town clock, and bell."[2]
The foundation stone for a new courthouse was laid on 10 June 1834. It was designed in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed later that year. The original design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto Almada Street. The central section of the three bays featured a full height tetrastyleportico formed by Ionic order columns supporting a frieze, an entablature and a pediment. There were two-bay wings on either side fenestrated by sash windows.[1] Internally, the principal rooms were the main courtroom, in the centre of the building on the ground floor, and a large hall on the first floor, which was established for county meetings.[3][b] A jail building was also established to the north of the courthouse.[6]
The courthouse was re-modelled to a design by John Lamb Murray in 1886. The works included single-bay extensions, which were slightly projected forward, at either end on the Almada Street frontage. The new bays were fenestrated by sash windows, with architraves and cornices; these windows were flanked by full-height Doric orderpilasters supporting friezes, entablatures and cornices. The jail building was demolished, creating space for a long extension along Beckford Street, consisting of a nine-bay central section, which featured another full-height tetrastyle portico, short recessed connecting sections, and three bay wings, all designed by Murray.[7]
The complex continued to serve as the local sheriff court throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century.[8] However, a new building known as Birnie House in Caird Street, was acquired in 2006 to deal with civil and family cases, allowing the Almada Street / Beckford Street building to focus on criminal cases.[9] It remains the third busiest courthouse in Scotland after Edinburgh and Glasgow.[10]
The court scenes for series 6 of the BBCsitcomStill Game were filmed in the courthouse in 2007.[11]
^The old town house was demolished in 1954, when a scroll was found recording its date of construction.[2]
^Until 1890, Lanarkshire was divided into three administrative wards: lower (Glasgow), middle (Hamilton) and upper (Lanark) and this building was the meeting place for the middle ward.[4] After the formation of Lanarkshire County Council in 1890, the county council also sometimes met in the Almada Street / Beckford Street building.[5]
