So, to the picture.... this beautiful building, built, surprisingly, in the 1930s, serves a variety of uses for the Scottish Borders Council, and includes the new Sheriff Court where local misdemeanours are dealt with. In the days of town councils this was Peebles' council buildings.
It replaced an older building built in 1857-8 as the poorhouse for the surrounding area, where the poor, elderly or infirm often ended up when there was no-one else to support them. It was always a dreaded fate to end up in the poorhouse, but as a last resort it was shelter over their head and food, however rudimentary. The Peebles poorhouse closed and was demolished in 1930. In the 1881 census a young unmarried mother and her baby of two months are seen to have been among the inmates at Peebles. All inmates were classed as paupers.
Recently, the police station was relocated in new buildings to the rear of the building, seen by most of the Peebles residents to be a ridiculous move, as it is situated way out of the town centre on the edge of town - not so user-friendly, if indeed that is the right expression!
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Thanks fot looking at my photos of Peebles. It is great to read your comments, so thanks for writing!