Tolbooth at Canongate, built around 1590 in a Franco-Scottish style, this was the centre of the burgh of Canongate, at the lower end of the Royal Mile. The entrance to the Council Chamber was by an external stair (seen in the picture above) as the ground floor was the local prison. On the front of the building is an inscription (in Latin) which reads "The place of the seal of the Burgh. For one's country and one's successors, 1591. King James VI. Justice and Piety are the strong bulwarks of a Prince."
The building was restored in 1879 and it now houses the "People's Story Museum". This illustrates life of ordinary people in Edinburgh over the last 200 years. The clock on the outside of the building is a replacement for one made in the 17th century.