The hard work is being put in to save Arbroath Court House

Thus on this July 27 open day, it was exciting to see such a wonderful building once again become a place where about 400 people – both children and adults – came through the door, and in one of the many rooms found something to interest them in the full varied programme on offer (plus a café).

In the early 19th century, a fire had destroyed the previous Guild of Trades home, and so it was decided to build a new building to be the joint premises of the town council and guildry. It was constructed with a bridge span between the two, on the first floor, going above and across the Pend, which opened from the corn market into the high street.

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By the end of the 20th century, changes with regionalisation meant the council no longer owned this building – some time ago it had been sold to the Scottish courts.

After they pulled out, the building was just left. That was until a decade ago when a local architect decided it was too beautiful (ie beautiful ornate plaster-work ceilings, minstrel gallery in the biggest salon) to be left to the elements. So he enlisted a small group of trustees to try to acquire ownership. Such a building requires a fair upkeep, and years of struggling to get grants to save it proved a daunting task. Luckily, Angus Council has been both encouraging and practically helpful in how they back this project.

Finally, perseverance paid off; over recent months, the building has at last been re-roofed to be watertight – and the team of Court House trustees, with some volunteers, did a power of cleaning and decorating in the past few weeks! Unfortunately, the magnificent main salon has already suffered. A few years ago when the Court House volunteers first held a small event in this impressive space, its ceiling still looked splendid; but during the intervening years of struggles to get funding, damp mould has spoilt it (and it will be costly to deal with) – a clear example of the material urgency behind this project. And that’s without starting on the social aims behind the scheme, with hopes that such a hub would mean improvement in the lives of the people of Arbroath, bringing zest back to the high street!

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As with the small previous event a few years ago, on Saturday, the Court House volunteers learned useful information when chatting to visitors who dropped in. With the new marina, yachtsmen from other countries (yes, one sailed from Switzerland, up the Rhine, and over and north to Scotland!) arriving at the harbour then tend to make their way up High Street to find out what this town has to offer. They are interested once they enter the building. These days, with no obvious information office (one of many functions that the Court House could offer!), the volunteers discovered that some of these tourists were unaware of our historic abbey, given that it is not obvious unless one is tempted to explore farther (and many tourists are so put off by the empty shops that they don’t do that!).

Another prospect is that this summer it has been noticeable how often long-distance cyclists use the coastal Route 1 going north. Once the dual carriageway cycle route makes the town more popular, such tourism should increase. Arbroath could, indeed, have a bright future ahead of it and this is something the Court House trustees have been working on for some years now, so they are delighted with this recent big breakthrough.

The trustees committee is particularly grateful to the many local individuals and groups who agreed to come and offer so many varied activities to interest people, as their enthusiasm and efforts helped make the day the success it was. And now that the building is at last in a fit state to use, there are novel ideas in the pipeline for later in the year!
Catriona de Voil
via email