Both the prisoners and the schoolchildren were transferred to Braehead in 1768 and the building was subsequently used as stabling for the horses of customers staying at the Saracen's Head Hotel.

By the early 19th century, the tolbooth was in such a dilapidated state that a group of local merchants led by William Wilson decided to raise money by public subscription with a view to erecting a new building on the same site.

It was designed by William Dobie in the neoclassical style, built in painted ashlar sandstone and was completed later that year.

The Beith Cultural and Heritage Society, a charity founded in 2006, took a lease on the building from North Ayrshire Council in 2010.

[11] After completion of an extensive programme of refurbishment works, the ground floor of the building was re-opened as an information and heritage centre in April 2011.