[1] The first municipal building in Nairn was an old tolbooth which was built on land donated by Hugh Rose of Kilravock Castle[2] in the late 16th century.

[3] After the tolbooth became dilapidated in the early 19th century, the burgh leaders decided to demolish it and to replace it with a new building.

[3] The new building was designed by a Mr Smith, built by a local mason, John Wilson, in ashlar stone at a cost of £1,392 and was completed in 1818.

[5] The original design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the High Street; the central bay, which slightly projected forward, featured a doorway on the ground floor, a mullioned window on the first floor and a square castellated tower above.

The tower featured a niche flanked by lancet windows at the front and was surmounted by an octagonal belfry and by a spire.