Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

Portree Sheriff Court, Somerled Square, PortreeLB13923

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
C
Date Added
05/10/1971
Last Date Amended
10/09/2015
Local Authority
Highland
Planning Authority
Highland
Parish
Portree
NGR
NG 48179 43602
Coordinates
148179, 843602

Description

Matthews and Lawrie, 1865-77; alterations 1994-96. 2 storey, 3-bay, classical court house of tooled ashlar with polished and tooled ashlar dressings. Full height channelled angle pilasters. Band course at between ground and first floor. Slightly advanced and pedimented centre bay with long and short quoins and console bracketed corniced doorpiece. The principal elevation windows have moulded architraves and plain apron panels. Frieze, cornice and blocking course with large decorative terminal urns. Plain 5-bay return to the west elevation. Piended platform slate roof.

The interior, seen in 2014, is arranged with the courtroom and public offices on ground floor and a main courtroom on the 1st floor. The courtroom has a high ceiling with simple moulded cornicing. A timber doorway with 3-pane arched fanlight and heavy moulded architrave leads to the courtroom. The timber furniture, fixtures and fittings date to the 1990s refurbishment of the interior. Open well stone staircase with decorative metal banister and timber railing. Ancillary rooms have decorative cornicing and panelled doors. Timber panelling up to dado in hallways and staircase.

Statement of Special Interest

Portree Sheriff Court dates to 1876 and was designed by the successful Highland architectural practice Matthews and Lawrie. The building is a good example of civic architecture, and unusually for its period it is constructed in the classical style more often seen in early 19th century court house designs. Built from high quality materials, it has a distinctive and prominent street elevation, forming a focal point in the streetscape of Portree's main square.

Portree Sheriff Court was designed in 1865 and was completed before 1877. The court house first appears on the

The architectural partnership of James Matthews and William Lawrie ran from 1864 until 1887, with offices in Aberdeen and Inverness. Matthews and Lawrie were commissioned to design a number of court houses in the Highland region, such as Kingussie (1864), Lochmaddy (1875) and Fort William (1876).

The development of the court house as a building type in Scotland follows the history of the Scottish legal system and wider government reforms. The majority of purpose-built court houses were constructed in the 19th century as by this time there was an increase in the separation of civic, administrative and penal functions into separate civic and institutional buildings, and the resultant surge of public building was promoted by new institutional bodies. The introduction of the Sheriff Court Houses (Scotland) Act of 1860 gave a major impetus to the increase and improvement of court accommodation and the provision of central funding was followed by the most active period of sheriff court house construction in the history of the Scottish legal system, and many new court houses were built or reworked after this date.

Court houses constructed after 1860 generally had a solely legal purpose and did not incorporate a prison, other than temporary holding cells. The courts were designed in a variety of architectural styles but often relied heavily on Scots Baronial features to reference the fortified Scottish building tradition, however the architectural style at Portree was largely influenced by the classical style which often characterises court house buildings prior to 1860. Newly constructed court buildings in the second half of the 19th century dispensed with large public spaces such as county halls and instead provided bespoke office accommodation for the sheriff, judge and clerks, and accommodated the numerous types of court and holding cells. In the case of Portree, a jail was directly adjacent. The jail has since been demolished, however it has been replaced with a modern police station.

Category changed from B to C, statutory address and listed building record revised as part of the Scottish Courts Listing Review 2014-15. Previously listed as 'Somerled Square Courthouse'.

References

Bibliography

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore.html CANMORE ID 99392.

Ordnance Survey (surveyed 1875, published 1881), Inverness-shire (Isle of Skye), Sheet XXIII. 6 inches to the mile. 1st Edition. London: Ordnance Survey.

Inverness Advertiser, 6 October 1865. Advertisement for tenders.

The Scottish Civic Trust (1983) Historic Buildings at Work. Glasgow: The Scottish Civic Trust. p.78.

Gifford, J. (1992) Buildings of Scotland: Highlands and Islands. London: Penguin Books Ltd. p.546.

Miers, M. (2008) Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Edinburgh: Rutland Press. p.217.

Historic Scotland (2014) Scottish Courts Preliminary Report at http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/scottish-courts-preliminary-report.pdf.

Dictionary of Scottish Architects, Matthews & Lawrie at http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=100130 [accessed 14 November 2014].

Further information provided by Scottish Courts Service (2014).

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images

Portree Sheriff Court, principal elevation, looking southwest, during daytime with blue sky
Interior of courtroom, Portree Sheriff Court.

Printed: 28/03/2024 22:28