Early history The Stonehaven Tolbooth is thought to have been founded by
George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553–1623), with the original purpose of the rectangular building being as a storehouse. An
act of Parliament, the '''''' (c. 51 (S)) provided that the
sheriff of
Kincardine would sit and hold their courts at "Stanehyve". After 1624, the town business functions were conducted on the upper level of the Stonehaven Tolbooth, with the ground floor being used as the prison. By 1685, there are further accounts of the Stonehaven Tolbooth functioning as the seat of justice for all of
Kincardineshire (the former shire of this district that was eventually subsumed into Aberdeenshire). Over the winter of 1748–1749, three Episcopalian clergy were incarcerated for the crime of holding a religious ceremony to more than nine people at the (now ruined)
chapel situated on the estate grounds of nearby
Muchalls Castle along the ancient
Causey Mounth. The Episcopalians were associated with the
Jacobite cause and discriminated against by the ruling
Hanoverians. The imprisoned clergymen's plight was memorialised in a well known
painting, illustrating a
baptism of an
infant through the bars of the prison. The painting belongs to the
diocese at
Brechin. Episcopal services were held in the Tolbooth from 1709, when Dunnottar parish church became part of the
Church of Scotland, until an Episcopal meeting house was erected in Stonehaven High Street in 1738.
Later history When new county
government facilities were built in Dunnottar Avenue in 1767, the Stonehaven tolbooth reverted to its earlier humble use as a storehouse. In 1963, the Tolbooth was in need of
restoration,
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother officially opened it in September 1963 which resulted in the present day use configuration of a
local museum on the ground floor and a restaurant on the above level. The museum displays objects relating to local history and the Tolbooth's existence, including a wooden model of the local war memorial. ==Architecture==