[1] In the first half of the 19th century, court hearings were held in a room in the tower of Dornoch Castle, accessed by a spiral staircase.

[3][4] The new building was designed by Thomas Brown in the Gothic Tudor Revival style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1850.

The central section of three bays, which was projected forward, featured a loggia formed by three round headed openings with hood moulds.

[6] Whilst the Sutherland commissioners met at the Sheriff Court, by then known as County Buildings, in Dornoch, their clerk at the time, George Tait, was based in Golspie.

[13] The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service subsequently disposed of the building and it now operates as a restaurant known as "Green's at the Courthouse, Dornoch".