Published on:
17
October 2025
The Council’s restoration of a historic landmark has won an award.
The restoration of the historic Clackmannan Tolbooth picked up the Conservation Award at Friday’s Stirling Society of Architects awards ceremony.
The Council invested £280,000 in the project to restore the Category A listed building with additional funding of £125,000 from Historic Environment Scotland. Restoration took place in 2024 and included stone works, roof replacement and refurbishment of the clock, bell and weathervane.
Clackmannan Tolbooth was originally erected in 1592, though the belfry tower that is visible today was built around 1680. William Menteith, Sheriff of Clackmannan, presented a petition to Parliament requesting that a tolbooth be built as he and his predecessors had been obliged to hold courts in the open air and to keep prisoners in his house. An Act was passed on 5 June 1592 which authorised the construction of the tolbooth and the collection of taxes to pay for it.
A bell presented by Sir Lawrence Dundas in 1765 was rung each evening until 1939. By 1792, the tolbooth was said to be 'a heap of ruins' and the main part of it was probably demolished about 1822 when the Clackmannanshire Sheriff Court was transferred to Alloa.
The partial remains of the tolbooth at Clackmannan are of outstanding interest because of their early date. There are no surviving tolbooths of medieval date in Scotland, and only a very few from the last quarter of the 16th century.
Spokesperson for place, Councillor Scott Harrison, said: “I'm delighted to see the Tolbooth restoration project gaining recognition with this award. The Council team along with the contractors carried out a fantastic piece of work to bring the Tolbooth back into the condition we see today. Along with the Tower, Church, Mannan Stone and Town Hall it really adds to the town centre. This complex project underlines the Council's commitment to Clackmannan and to ensure our historic buildings are kept in as good a condition as possible.”
Depute spokesperson for place, Councillor Jane McTaggart, added: “I am delighted that the complex restoration project of this iconic Clackmannanshire building has been recognised with an award.”
The Tolbooth project was part of a wider £1.2m investment into the regeneration of Clackmannan which included streetscape works alongside new housing and commercial development. The Tolbooth project being the pinnacle of such investment at the top of Clackmannan main street, preserving this significant a beautiful asset for generations to come.