Canongate Tolbooth
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| Canongate Tolbooth | |
|---|---|
 Canongate Tolbooth | |
| Location | Old Town, Edinburgh |
| Coordinates | 55°57′05″N 3°10′48″W / 55.9515°N 3.1800°W |
| Built | 1591 |
| Architectural style | Scottish medieval style |
Listed Building – Category A | |
| Official name | 163 Canongate, Canongate Tolbooth |
| Designated | 14 December 1970 |
| Reference no. | LB27582 |
  Shown in Edinburgh | |
Canongate Tolbooth is a historic landmark of the Old Town area of Edinburgh, built in 1591 as a tolbooth, that is, the centre of administration and justice of the then separate burgh of the Canongate which was outside the Edinburgh town walls.[1] It ceased to be a municipal building in 1856 and it is now occupied by The People's Story Museum and is protected as a category A listed building.[2]
The tower of the tolbooth was built in 1591, and the block to the east of it at that time or slightly after, by Sir Lewis Bellenden, baron of Broughton and feudal superior of the burgh of Canongate and Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland.[2][3] It served as the courthouse, burgh jail and meeting place of the town council.[2]
Many Covenanters were held in the tolbooth in poor conditions in the 17th century[4][5] and a riot took place in the building in May 1692.[6] It ceased to be the meeting place of the burgh council when Canongate was annexed by Edinburgh in 1856.[7]
In 1875 the City Architect, Robert Morham, extensively restored and remodelled the exterior. Internally the first and attic floors were combined to make a single floor, now The People's Story Museum.[8][9]
