It was designed by Robert Lees of Dalkeith in the neoclassical style, built in coursed rubble and ashlar stone and was completed in 1805.

The bell, which had been cast by Lester & Pack in 1757, was recovered from the old tolbooth and the clock tower was surmounted by a spire, which was 100 feet (30 m) high.

[8] In 1891, a stained-glass window was installed on the first floor to commemorate the lives of local people who had died at the Battle of Flodden during the War of the League of Cambrai.

[10][11][12] A small museum was subsequently established in the building with support from Borders Regional Council: it largely exhibited artefacts associated with the novelist, Sir Walter Scott, the poet, James Hogg, and the explorer, Mungo Park.

[13][14] An extensive programme of refurbishment works, financed by Historic Environment Scotland and the Scottish Borders Council and costing £430,000, was completed in December 2018.