The Tholsel

Four-storey towerhouse, built c.1500, with square-plan clock drum surmounted by octagonal lantern, added c. 1750 and round-headed recess in south elevation is result of later alterations. Historical use as tholsel. Copper roof to lantern, with metal weather-vane finial and painted louvered fittings. Clock tower with clock faces on three sides and with moulded cornice. Painted rendered sandstone walls. Battered bases to south-east and south-west corners. Square-headed window openings to clock drum, loops elsewhere. Pointed arch entrance door to south elevation with replacement timber door. Murder hole and seventeenth-century fireplaces to interior. Situated on a narrow one-way street.

This landmark structure has undergone many changes, the current clock dating from the eighteenth century, although the medieval origins of the tower can be seen in its battered base. It is an important feature of the streetscape and skyline of the town.