Tolbooth House

About Tolbooth House

The building you see here dates from the early 19th century and occupies the site of an earlier Town House of a local family: Cockburn. The Rotary Club presented the clock in 1976 and there is a plaque to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Duns being granted its Burgh of Barony status by James IV in 1490. The stone that can be seen on the corner is a rubbing stone to stop horse drawn carriages from colliding with the building. In a Scottish town, the tolbooth was where market traders paid levies to sell their goods and where those who fell foul of the law were imprisoned.
Looking ahead you will see The White Swan Hotel. There has been an inn with this name here since at least the 1820s. Notice the tripartite windows on the first floor.