Central tower, A and B halls and former entrance wing, HMP Dumfries

Designed by Major General T B Collinson, architect to the Scottish Prison Commission, HMP Dumfries was built in a castellated style and opened in 1883. It comprises a rectangular plan site with a prison at the centre, a high boundary wall of squared and coursed tooled red sandstone (some sections have been replaced in brown brick) and a gatehouse entrance to the southeast. The gatehouse has a pair of tall drum towers flanking a round arched and keystoned opening. The corbelled drum towers have arrowslit windows with Latin cross loopholes above. The keystone has a large carved key and above this is the cipher VR surmounted by a crown to represent the reigning monarch at the time of construction, Queen Victoria.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the circa 1989 gate and administrative complex to the left of the entrance tower, the circa 1967 C hall attached to the west of the central tower and the single storey detached buildings to the north of the site.

The prison itself is constructed from squared and coursed Locharbriggs red sandstone with some cream Cumberland stone dressings. It was originally a T-plan building with the entrance comprising a projecting two storey attic and basement two bay wing with a projecting rectangular porch with round arched openings and a tripartite hoodmoulded round-arched window above and an oculus to the attic. Behind the entrance is an observation-type taller square tower with angle splayed towers at the corners. This tower divides the former women's and men's wings. To the left of the tower is the four bay former women's wing (A Hall) and to the right of the tower is the ten bay former men's wing (B Hall). Both are three storey and basement with regularly-spaced shallow-arched small rectangular window openings and large round-arched windows to their gable ends.

The interior of the halls, partially seen in 2015, comprises a corridor plan with floors of regularly spaced shallow barrel vaulted cells opening off either side of the corridor. The design is simple and functional and there are few architectural features. The floors are supported on curved iron brackets and the top floor has a chevron cornice. The basement walls are tooled and the door surrounds have long and short quoins. The interior of the tower has been refurbished.