Court House And Police Station, Dunnottar Avenue, Stonehaven

The building is a court house and police station, constructed between 1863 and 1865 by James Campbell Walker, and incorporating fabric dating back to approximately 1767. It also includes alterations and additions made in 1822 by John Smith. The building is two storeys and a basement, with eleven bays arranged symmetrically in a neo-classical style, with the end bays slightly projecting. The front is faced with channelled ashlar at ground level and polished ashlar above, while the rear is built of rubble with tooled ashlar dressings. Architectural features include a base course, band course, mutuled eaves cornice, and a balustraded parapet, along with decorative ironwork brattishing. The ground floor has round-arched openings, and the first floor has lugged architraved openings. A central porch features a moulded round-arched opening with a carved lion head keystone, supported by granite columnettes and flanked by pilasters. The rear elevation has irregular window placement, including three round-arched windows on the first floor with multi-pane glazing. A two-storey wing, dating from 1822, extends from the left side of the rear elevation. A police station extension was added in 1983 to the southeast.

The majority of windows are timber sash and case, with predominantly plate glass glazing. The roof is covered in grey slates. Chimneys are constructed of cavetto-coped ashlar, some with shouldering or panelling, and some have cans. Square-section cast-iron downpipes are present, along with decorative rainwater hoppers.

The interior, observed in 2014, is arranged around a central, south-facing courtroom (Court 1) on the first floor. This courtroom features an open pedimented doorpiece with a double-faced clock in the tympanum. The judge's bench is located on the east side and incorporates a classically-detailed, panelled timber sounding board with a large central pediment featuring scrolled details, flanked by pedimented doorways. Steps leading to the judge's bench have square-finialled, stop-chamfered newels. A moulded, decoratively astragalled oculus window is situated on the west wall. The ceiling is compartmented with a coombed design, and features chandeliers, decorative cornices, boarded timber dadoes, and cast-iron radiators. Some original bench seating has been retained, including jury seats, and the public benches are on a raked floor. A narrow corridor exists beneath the floor, with a fragment of steps leading to the dock area, presumably for defendants. Court Room 2 was refurbished before 1994 and features a coombed ceiling with a mutuled cornice, panelled reveals, and cast-iron radiators. The entrance hall is double height and contains a cantilevered dog-leg staircase with decorative iron balusters. A lift was installed in 2004. A part-glazed panelled timber screen door with flanking lights and a semicircular fanlight provide access. Vaulted cells are located at basement level (one now a boiler room) and have stone flag floors. An original cell door with a viewing hole and large hinges remains in the boiler room. Vaulted record rooms are on the ground floor, also with a flagstone floor. Rooms and circulation spaces throughout the building are characterised by classical detailing, including decorative and plain plasterwork cornices, timber shutters, and six-panelled architraved doors.

Boundary walls consist of ashlar-coped rubble dwarf walls with low, square-plan terminating piers.