Perth Sheriff Court

Perth Sheriff Court is a substantial court house built in 1819 by Sir Robert Smirke, constructed in a Greek Revival style. The building is a single storey and comprises thirteen bays, arranged in an ‘E’ shape. The monumental front is distinguished by an advanced Greek Doric portico consisting of an eight-pillar colonnade. The exterior is faced with pale polished sandstone, with ashlar stonework on the main elevation and squared and snecked whinstone at the rear. The design incorporates a base course, an entablature with a triglyphed frieze, an eaves cornice and a blocking course. A shallow flight of steps leads to the central portico, where three heavily panelled timber doors are set behind round-arched fanlights. Pilasters divide the flanking paired windows, with small attic openings above. The outer sections comprise three bays, featuring architraved and corniced windows, and pilastered corner angles. The north and south elevations each have three bays with round-arched tripartite windows incorporating pilaster mullions.

The windows are predominantly timber sash and case windows with 15 panes of glass. The roof is covered in grey slate, with coped stacks topped with clay cans. Cast iron rainwater goods are also present.

The interior, as seen in 2014, is arranged around a central, west-facing courtroom (courtroom 1) on the first floor. It retains an excellent and largely intact decorative scheme dating from the 1860s. A dominant, T-plan staircase crafted from Arbroath stone is located in the entrance hall, featuring stone parapets and shouldered arches beneath the side landings, all lit by a central lantern light. Courtroom 1 retains much of its furniture and fittings from 1866, and is square in plan with clerestory lighting and a timber-panelled gallery supported by cast-iron columns. A long, timber-panelled bench with a sounding board, supported on corbelled brackets, is a notable feature. Raked pew seating, a timber jury box, and a witness stand are also present, alongside a dock with a covered hatch leading to the cells beneath. The room features timber dado panelling, a coffered ceiling embellished with rosettes and a central ventilator. Courtroom 2 includes timber furniture and a bench recess within an alcove. The former Assembly Room in the south wing retains Smirke’s original design, featuring a remarkable white marble Greek Doric chimney piece with eagles supporting the mantelpiece. The room also has a panelled ceiling, arcaded walls, numerous timber panelled doors, and some decorative cornicing. A vaulted strongroom with fitted timber shelving units and vaulted cells in the basement complete the interior.