[1] The original venue for the administration of justice and the conduct of municipal affairs in the town was Lanark Castle.

[4] On 30 November 1649, a group of eleven alleged witches were imprisoned in the tolbooth and subjected to pricking by the witch-pricker, George Cathie, to seek out the mark of the devil.

[6] Then, on 23 December 1684, Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, who had been incriminated for his alleged involvement in the Rye House Plot, was brought up before the High Court on the charge of treason.

[11] By the 1830s, the tolbooth was dilapidated and it was decided to commission new public buildings in Hope Street and the burgh council relocated to that location in 1836.

The works were carried out to a design by a local architect, Peter Magnus, and financed by Border Biscuits and the Levenseat Trust.