County Buildings, High Street, Linlithgow

The County Buildings, prominently situated on Linlithgow’s High Street, were designed by Walker Todd of Dick Peddie and Walker Todd and built in 1935. This two-story structure is a symmetrical, rectangular building of seven bays, representing a Neo-Georgian style. The exterior is constructed from cream-coloured, snecked and bull-faced sandstone rubble, with polished ashlar dressings. A tall ashlar plinth rises to a frieze and roll-moulded cornice that also serves as a cill course for the ground floor windows. Ashlar window margins, a cill course at the first floor, a frieze, moulded eaves course, cornice, blocking course, and rusticated quoins contribute to the refined appearance. The doorpieces feature two-leaf panelled doors with lion-head copper handles, and two-leaf glazed vestibule doors.

The north elevation, the main entrance front, has seven bays with a central ashlar porch characterized by cavetto-chamfered angles, a cornice, and stepped blocking course. An architraved doorpiece is centered within the porch, surmounted by a recessed ashlar panel containing an architraved window and bay leaf garland decoration. The remaining bays feature regular window placement on both ground and first floors.

The west side elevation stretches for 23 bays, with 21 arranged symmetrically. Two lower bays are located at the far right, originally housing caretakers' quarters. The central section comprises seven advanced two-story bays with an attic space above the cornice. An advanced architraved doorpiece is at the center of this section, accompanied by a console-bracketed cornice and an ashlar apron above a window flanked by scrolled decoration. Regular fenestration is present throughout, with smaller windows in the attic. Recessed bays are positioned to the right and left, and three advanced bays are to the outer right and left, each with an architraved doorpiece centered on the facade (the left door has been carefully blocked and replaced with a window). Two doors remain on the far right, above which are two windows at the first floor. An advanced bay at the extreme right features a tall, corniced chimney.

The south elevation presents a harled return, with a lower wing featuring a single-story canted window to the right and bipartite windows to the left and first floor.

The rear, west elevation is asymmetrical and constructed from harled material.

The building incorporates fifteen-pane sash and case windows, a green tile piended roof, and original rainwater goods.

The interior is notable for its fine plaster cornices in the entrance and stair halls, handsome timber doors, a domed stair hall with rooflights and a half-turn staircase with a streamlined metal balustrade. A timber-panelled committee room exists on the first floor, complete with original furnishings. The entrance areas are finished with green marble and travertine flooring.

A low screen wall and lamp standards extend along the north elevation. The wall is cream-colored with sandstone ashlar, featuring square piers, and two tall wrought-iron lamp standards with attenuated lanterns. Further lamp standards, with decorative bronze lanterns, stand along the west side of the County Buildings and the adjacent police buildings. A Provost's lamp, a decorated column featuring a halberd with the Linlithgow coat of arms on the base panels and coloured glass in the lamp, completes the exterior features.