Town House, Townhall Street, Inverkeithing

This is a substantial town house, constructed in two phases between 1754 and 1770. The earlier part is a square tower built between 1754 and 1755 by John Monroe, followed by a three-storey, four-bay main block added between 1769 and 1770, designed by George Monroe. The building is constructed of coursed sandstone ashlar to the tower, caulked ashlar to the main block, and random rubble to the rear. It features a deep base course, an eaves course, stone cills, projecting quoins to the main block, and rusticated quoins to the tower. The tower is topped with a pediment containing an octagonal belfry and an ogee roof. A crowstepped skew is present on the northeast corner, with beaked skewputts.

The principal south elevation consists of the main block with a central moulded and corniced doorpiece dated 1770. Flanking this are a keystoned doorway to the left and a keystoned window to the right. To the far right is a round-arched and keystoned doorway which was formerly a pend leading to St Peter’s churchyard, while a small square window sits to the far left. Four evenly spaced windows are on the first floor, with a flagpole rising from the center. The second floor has four square, evenly spaced windows with iron bars, previously part of a debtors' prison, set close to the eaves. The tower to the left features a keystoned round-arched doorway at the first stage, and a second-stage window set within a pediment, bisected by a string course, with the burgh coat of arms carved into the pediment. A corniced third stage has a raised, bracketed, blank square panel. The octagonal belfry has keystoned round-arched openings with louvered panels, and is topped by an octagonal ogee roof with a wrought-iron weather vane finial. A stone forestair and rusticated round-arched doorway are located to the left return of the tower.

The east elevation adjoins numbers 8 and 10 Townhall Street, while the west elevation adjoins number 2 Townhall Street. The north elevation has four ground floor windows, with the one to the far left set within the former pend, showing evidence of a rubble arch above. A single first floor window is positioned off-center to the right, with a larger window to the far right and a bipartite window to the left. Two large cast-iron rooflights illuminate the roof, and a full-height flat roof extension to the right provides access to the rear of the tower, with small windows on the ground and first floors, and a larger window on the second floor.

The building features predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows and timber panelled and boarded doors. The roofs are pitched and ogival, covered with grey slates, with straight stone skews, a single crowstepped skew to the northeast, beaked skewputts, corniced ashlar gable apex stacks, and circular clay cans.

Inside, a stone slab floor and risers lead to a central stairwell on the first floor. The former council chamber, located to the east of the plan, retains a late 18th century Windsor armchair (the original councillor’s chair) along with circa 1930s semi-circular councillors' tables and leather-padded armchairs. An early document store is situated off the council chamber. The debtors' prison second floor has a coved ceiling, and a late 19th century cast-iron and tiled fire surround on the east wall.