The old Peterhead town house

Peterhead's town house was erected in 1788 replacing two earlier tollbooths, the first of which had been used as an infirmary during a plague epidemic. Once the danger was over the building and its contents were burnt to the ground as a sanitary precaution.

Built of local granite, the present building was marked by a 125 foot spire crowned with a gilded weather cock and containing both a bell and clock and a telescope for viewing the countryside and out to see sea. The ground floor was used as a market place and remained unpaved until 1822. The first floor was used as a two-classroom school while the town council used the upper storeys. These days the building is largely unused and looks generally uncared for.