Fort William Sheriff Court

Fort William Sheriff Court
The building in 2017
Location	High Street, Fort William
Coordinates	56°48′55″N5°06′55″W / 56.8154°N 5.1154°W / 56.8154; -5.1154
Built	1876
Architect	James Matthews and William Lawrie
Architectural style	Gothic Revival style
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Official name	Fort William Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, including boundary wall, railings and gatepiers, High Street, Fort William
Designated	11 September 2015
Reference no.	LB52361
Shown in Lochaber

Fort William Sheriff Court is a judicial building on the High Street in Fort William in Scotland. The building, which continues to be used as a courthouse, is a Category C listed building. ^[1]

History

Although sheriff court hearings have taken place in Fort William since 1794, ^{[2] [3]} a prison, with a courtroom, was only established in the town in 1849. ^[4] In the early 1870s, court officials decided to commission a dedicated courthouse for the area. The site they selected was on the southeast side of the High Street, just to the west of the prison. ^[5]

The new building was designed by James Matthews and William Lawrie in the Gothic Revival style, built in red sandstone and was completed in 1876. It was extended to the rear in the 1880s. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of three bays facing southwest down the High Street. The first bay on the left was fenestrated with a pair of arched windows with hood moulds on each floor, with a gable above. The second bay, which was projected forward, was fenestrated with a pair of arched windows with hood moulds on the ground floor, and with a set of the three arched windows with hood moulds on the first floor, with a gable containing a trefoil above. The right-hand bay was formed by a three-stage tower: there was an arched doorway with a hood mould in the first stage, an arched window with a hood mould in the second stage and a small blind window with a hood mould in the third stage, all surmounted by a frieze containing a quatrefoil and two trefoils, and pyramid-shaped roof with brattishing. Internally, the principal room was the courtroom, with a vaulted ceiling, on the first floor. ^[6]

An extensive programme of refurbishment works was completed in 1996, enabling the building to continue to serve as the venue for sheriff court hearings in the area. ^[7] In December 2000, the building was the venue for a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of four venture scouts in an avalanche on Aonach Mòr in December 1998: ^{[8] [9] [10]} the court found that the victims "had died of asphyxiation". ^[11] Following a nationwide review of all Scottish court buildings, Historic Environment Scotland listed the building at Category C in 2015. ^[12]

See also

• List of listed buildings in Fort William, Highland

References

1. Historic Environment Scotland. "Fort William Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, including boundary wall, railings and gatepiers, High Street, Fort William (Category C Listed Building LB52361)" . Retrieved 1 October 2024.
2. Kilgour, William T. (1908). Lochaber in War & Peace Being a Record of Historical Incidents, Legends, Traditions & Folk-lore with Notes on the Topography & Scenic Beauties of the Whole District. Alexander Gardner. p. 65. A Sheriff Court was established at Fort William towards the end of the 18th century, for the trial of civil and criminal cases arising in the Lochaber district, and, so far as records exist, the earliest civil action occurred in 1794.
3. Martin, Paula (2005). Lochaber A Historical Guide. Birlinn. p. 47. ISBN   978-1-84158-241-2. It was in around 1790 that the sheriff court was established.
4. Twenty-Seventh Report of the General Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland to Rt. Hon. Sir George Grey. Vol. 37. H. M. Stationery Office. 1866. p. 15.
5. "Ordnance Survey Six-inch 1st edition, 1843–1882". Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
6. "Inspection of the Conditions in which Prisoners are Transported and Held in Sheriff and JP Courts while Under Escort" (PDF). H. M. Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland. 20 March 2012. p. 79. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
7. "Fort William Sheriff Court". Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
8. "Guide defends decision to ignore avalanche alert". The Independent. 28 November 2000. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
9. "Ski guide 'saw no risk' in avalanche alert". The Guardian. 28 November 2000. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
10. "Families of avalanche victims say mountain guide was not to blame". The Herald. 30 November 2000. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
11. "Death group guide 'not to blame'". BBC News. 14 December 2000. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
12. "Designations Team Update" (PDF). The Magazine of The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland. p. 36. Retrieved 1 October 2024.