Tolbooth, The

The Tolbooth, High Street, Glasgow
©2011 Gazetteer for Scotland

Located at the junction of High Street and Saltmarket, at the southeastern edge of the Merchant City in Glasgow, all that remains of the 17th-century Tolbooth is the buckle-quoined steeple. Originally one of the most important buildings of the city, housing the city council, courts of law and the jail, as well as the place where the tolls, taxes and dues were collected, the Tolbooth was built in 1625-7 but grew more distant to the commercial centre of the city as that moved westward. In 1921, in an attempt to rejuvenate the area, the majority of the Tollbooth was demolished to make way for a new development. However, this development was never undertaken and the spire is now all that remains of the original building.

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