Cromarty Court House Museum Including Prison, Church Street, Cromarty

The court house was constructed from 1772-82 and in 1845-47 Thomas Brown II carried out repairs and improvements to the building, including a cell block to the rear. It is a 2-storey, 5-bay, T-plan former courthouse (now a museum) with a central projecting 3 stage clock tower and octagonal cupola. The building is predominantly constructed of coursed rubble and has been rendered, with rusticated quoins at the ground floor, ashlar margins, gable string courses on the gables and a cupola in coursed red sandstone. There are square windows at the ground floor and round-arched windows at the first floor with multi-pane sashes. The roof is slated.

The clock tower has round arched recesses at the ground floor. That to the east side has an entrance door. The third stage has a blind lunette and there is a simple stone parapet and a pinnacle on each corner. The octagonal cupola has a clock face on its north elevation and louvred bull's eyes on three sides. The cupola has a domed copper roof and is topped by a metal weathervane. To the rear is a later mid-19th century L-plan and gabled cell block with a slate roof containing 3 prison cells with small high level windows. There is a small arcaded exercise gallery with a flat stone roof and iron bars in the arcades. The cell block and exercise yard are constructed of coursed red rubble with ashlar dressings.

The interior was seen in 2015. The first floor courtroom retains many mid-19th century fittings. There is a raised bench (with no seating) flanked by cast iron stoves, a narrow timber dock, a jury and witnesses' boxes, and benches. There are plastered walls with some timber panelling up to dado level and a simple moulded plaster ceiling. The adjoining former clerk's room to the rear has a mid-19th century inserted chimney. There is a vaulted documents store in the roof space of the prison block, which is accessed from the corridor adjacent to the clerk's room.

At the ground floor is a kitchen, 3 cells and an exercise gallery. Two of the cells were fitted with single low wooden beds, now replicated. The third and largest cell has a fireplace and was used both for debtors, and as a dayroom for prisoners. All 3 cells have a studded, metal-plated door.

A pair of square ashlar gatepiers to Church Street are supported by a curved wrought iron lap bracket. There are iron railings mounted on a coped stone wall.