Greenlaw Town Hall's Past

Greenlaw was the county town of Berwickshire from 1698 to 1904 and the most outstanding building in Greenlaw, the old Town Hall or County Rooms, reflects that former important status.

It was built by the Earl of Marchmont at his own expense in 1829 for the benefit of the nation. The architect was John Cunningham.The style is Greek Revival and the symmetrical front elevation features a central Ionic portico. A raised dome with piended slate roof rises over the main hall, and once contained a fireproof room for the storage of legal documents, whilst the main hall was used for county courts trials. A pair of pedimented pavilions with lead roofs are linked to the main hall and housed the judges robing rooms and clerical offices. The building lost its town hall status in 1904, and was subsequently used as a village hall and vibrant centre of community life, before housing Polish soldiers during World War II. Community use continued after the war but the maintenance was forever a problem.

During the 1970s a swimming pool was built in the main hall but unfortunately proved to be economically unviable. More recently it was used as an antique centre but as the cost of repairs to the building mounted that too closed. It has been unused for about the last 16 years and is at risk of demolition.

However, now the Town Hall is at the centre of an energetic campaign to restore the building for a sustainable use.