The Old Courthouse

The Old Courthouse is a County Court building constructed in 1871 by T. C. Sorby. It is built of ashlar stone and features a Welsh slate roof, showcasing an Italianate style. The structure has two storeys and a basement, occupying a corner site with a near-symmetrical facade that includes seven bays across the front and four bays deep.

The ground floor is rusticated, with square-headed basement windows. A flight of stone steps leads to the main entrance located in the seventh bay, which is framed by a Doric portico that has a deep parapet adorned with a cartouche. The entrance features a double, panelled door and square-headed sash windows set in deep newels, complete with cut voussoirs and dropped keystones.

On the first floor, an Ionic colonnade is formed by pilasters at the blind end bays and engaged columns, creating a space for five round-arched windows. These windows are set beneath a balustrade and framed by architraves with pilasters and console keystones. The frieze contains two tiny lights. The building is topped with a full entablature and a panelled, balustraded parapet, while the hipped roof is complemented by ornamental ashlar stacks featuring a dentilled cornice and rounded caps. The left return of the building mirrors the main facade, with an entrance on the left and two ground-floor windows, along with three first-floor windows that have square heads and triangular pediments on console brackets, also featuring tiny lights in the frieze.

The interior has not been inspected.