Lochmaddy Court

James Matthews & William Lawrie, Architects, 1875 and addition by Alexander Ross & Robert John McBeth Architects, 1892. 2-storey, L-plan court house in Italianate Gothic style on a corner site in a rural settlement and sited on ground falling away to the rear. Principal 2-storey, 3-bay symmetrical block with lower 2-storey 3-bay section forming second entrance to east and small single storey bay beyond. Later (1892) single storey range to west gable. Rendered with ashlar quoins and window dressings. Pointed openings, some with hoodmoulds. Continuous string between floors with angled wide chamfered quoins below and corbelled out at first floor. Shallow stone entrance porch with angled top and brattishing to north entrance with 3 dormer windows breaking eaves and finalled to courtroom at first floor. Tripartite windows to gables. Shouldered and crenulated stone doorpiece to east entrance with single plain dormer over. Small gable belfry detail to south gable.

Boarded 2-leaf entrance doors. Non-original glazing pattern in timber sash and case windows with fixed panes to arch points. Replacement slates to roof with projecting eaves and rendered end stacks.

The interior, seen in 2014, has a good gothic styled decorative scheme with good quality carved timber detailing throughout. Ground floor corridor with dado panelling and 4-panel timber doors with pen lights leading to offices with unpainted timber fire surrounds. Turned stair with decorative cast iron ballusters leading to a symmetrical open first floor upper hall with dado panelling and 2-centred arches, some on banded and clustered wooden columns. Rare survival of a near complete interior decorative scheme to the courtroom thought to be contemporary with the construction of the building. Long judges bench with arcaded, cusped-panelled front, dock and pew style public seating. Combed ceiling with delicate timber ventilator panels. The single storey cell wing to northwest has reinforced and modified four panel doors to cells.