Town House, High Street, Strathmiglo
Strathmiglo Tower is a important survival of an outstanding 18th century stone tower with fine stone detailing surviving in good and near original condition and providing a strong focal point to the historic market town.
Strathmiglo is an ancient burgh, the Burgh of Barony given to Sir William Scott of Balwearie in 1509, although the first feus were not granted until 1600 and it ceased to be a Burgh in 1748. The town developed from this date and by the early 19th century is was a centre for weaving. The tower was an addition to an earlier building used as the Town Hall which was demolished and rebuilt in the mid 19th century (now converted to private dwelling).The later hall is linked to the tower by a crowstepped gable and the forestair. A skewputt within the gable which is the carving of a head is of an earlier date to the hall.
The armorial panel is dated 1734 and holds the name and arms of the Honourable Margaret Balfour of Burleigh, the superior of the burgh. The sundial is supported by a short section of semicircular shaft and is said to be a remnant of the burgh's market cross. The belfry houses a bell bearing the motto Tempus Fugit, cast for the burgh in 1766 by Lester and Pack of London. Originally the ground floor of the tower housed the town's cell with a slit window to the W. The clocks apparently had stone dials prior to 1921 when they were altered to be as they are today.
It is possible that the tower may be built from the stones of Strathmiglo or Cairney Flappet Castle. It is built on the traditional Fife pattern which is a subtly battered section and a partly convex section to the broached spire. The tower is similar in profile to the nearby B-listed Auchtermuchty Town Hall Tower which is now incased in a later 19th century hall. [British Listed Buildings]
