Aberdeen Sheriff Court Annex and High Court of Justiciary (Formerly Bank of Scotland), 53 Castle Street, Aberdeen

The Aberdeen Sheriff Court Annex and High Court of Justiciary, formerly the Bank of Scotland, is a classical building designed by James Burn in 1801, with an addition made around 1859 by William Smith. It stands three stories tall and features a five-by-five bay layout on a prominent sloping corner site. The exterior is constructed of grey granite ashlar, with the ground floor channelled. Architectural details include a base course, impost course, band and string courses, and a triglyph and disc frieze, topped by a deep modillioned eaves cornice. The roof is piended and platformed, with a balustraded parapet and a blocking course on the east side.

The ground floor has openings set within round-arched recesses, with shallow steps leading up to a recessed four-panel, two-leaf timber entrance door, which has a semi-circular glazed fanlight above it. The Castle Street elevation is distinguished by giant order Doric pilasters that separate the upper storey bays. There are also some blind windows on the east elevation.

The windows are predominantly timber sash and case, with plate glass replacements. The roof is covered in grey slate, and there are coped wallheads and gable stacks.

Inside, as observed in 2006, there is an impressive entrance hall featuring fluted Corinthian columns (some of which are not structural) and pilasters, along with a sectioned ceiling adorned with high-quality deep decorative plaster cornicing. The basement contains some vaulted cells, while the rest of the building has been extensively modernised for use as courts and offices.