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Summary

Description

John McKissack and Son, 1899-1900, with later alterations. 2-storey and attic, asymmetrical 6-bay, rectangular-plan sheriff court house in simple Early Renaissance style. Prominent decorative, advanced and pedimented entrance bay with arched entrance doorway and tall nine-light 1st floor window with stained glass and stone balustraded shallow balcony on consoled brackets. A lower recessed stair tower forms the far right bay. Double and triple stone mullioned windows to the principal elevations and an arched courtroom window to north elevation. Ashlar red sandstone to window dressings and cill and lintel band courses. Whinstone rubble, and later render to south gable.

Panelled timber entrance doors, replacement timber sash and case windows. Concrete tiles to roof with later box dormers.

The interior, seen in 2014, has a good interior decorative scheme throughout. The large courtroom to the first floor has a finely crafted timber bench, timber dado panelling and raked seating area all under a plainly styled timber roof with three open timber trusses on stone corbel brackets. The dock has a floor hatch to a staircase. There have been some later alterations to the main entrance reception area. Inner entrance hall with a herringbone floor, an open squared timber stair with timber bannisters and a decorative cast iron column; lit from above by large stained glass window with thistle detailing. Predominantly 5-panel timber doors to general office areas. Secondary stair with decorative cast iron bannisters leading to the former caretakers flat at attic level.

Low coped boundary walls with railings to the street.

Statement of Special Interest

Dating to 1899-1900, Dunoon Sheriff Court is the only known example of a court house built around the turn of the century, and is an important civic building in Dunoon. A large number of court houses were built in the two decades immediately after the Sheriff Court Houses (Scotland) Act of 1860 and there is then a significant gap in construction before a further phase around the mid to late 20th century. Dunoon Sheriff Court has good stonework detailing to the exterior, such as the distinctive gabled entrance bay, and the interior decorative scheme, particularly the court room, is largely intact.

John McKissack (1844-1915) took his son, James McKissack (1875-1940), into his architectural practice as an apprentice, becoming a partner in 1900. Dunoon Sheriff Court was most likely designed by James McKissack, and is one of his earliest design commissions. He went on to be a prolific cinema designer, designing around 40 Art Deco style cinemas in Glasgow and the west of Scotland.

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. 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.

Listed as part of the Scottish Courts Listing Review 2014-15.

References

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