This is Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, a fine example of Victorian Scots baronial architecture.

I have been inside this building once. Not that I was accused of anything – I was called for jury duty. And there’s a curious tale there.

The details of the charge were read out (I forget now what it was – a minor drugs offence, perhaps) before the jurors were chosen. After the ballot, the successful/unlucky ones were asked if there was any reason why they could not try the case.

One woman stood up and said she couldn’t. On being asked why not she said, “I saw the accused … emmm ….” but did not finish her sentence, though her implication was clearly that she had seen the accused act in a criminal way.

The sheriff did not question her about it but merely told her she could go and another juror was chosen. It obviously had not occurred to him that her reason may not have been valid and that she may just have been trying to avoid jury service.

But a more important thought struck me. Hadn’t what she said possibly prejudiced the jury against the accused?

I don’t know if it did since I didn’t see the outcome of the case as the sheriff immediately then dismissed the other potential jurors. I had not been chosen so I left for home.

The Sheriff Court has a nice setting off the same square as Kirkcaldy Town House.

However, a less cropped picture shows the extension (built in the 1970s?)

What on Earth were they thinking? The two parts do not match at all.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court also used to feature in the BBC Scotland comedy series Chewin’ the Fat, though in name only as it was filmed in any likely location.

Here’s one of the clips.

Another extract (less suitable for work) is here. It features a Victorian building which isn’t, though, Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

The day after Braintree we took in the nearby village of Silver End. This was the first time we’d been there as for all the years we lived in Essex we didn’t have a car.

We were looking for the housing estate designed by the architect Thomas S Tait who I see from the link submitted an unsuccessful plan for Kirkcaldy Town Hall. Among other accomplishments he was the architect of St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh which I have featured here and here.

We knew we were on the right track when we came upon this in Boar’s Tye Road:-

It’s needing a bit of TLC I would say.

The next junction takes you into Silver Street. Every building is one of Tait’s.

This was taken from the other end of the street after we had parked.

This is the junction of Silver Street and Broadway which also contains many Tait houses.

There must have been around two hundred flat roofed houses in the deco style over the two streets.

A few had some extra deco flourishes like the triangular columns with windows in this photo where you can also see the connecting walls between them which house the gates to the rear gardens.

Like Burton’€™s on the High Street this is another commercial Art Deco building in Kirkcaldy, though this is not high Deco and has more similarities in style with the Town House.

It’€™s the former office complex of linoleum manufacturers Nairn & Williamson; off Victoria Road, and has now been turned into luxury flats. The linoleum factory was the other side of Victoria Road from here. Since the linoleum trade fell away most of that site has been demolished.

Here’s the view from the left side:-

And from the right:-