Dundalk Courthouse

The place

Six Doric columns give Dundalk Courthouse a monumental presence on Market Square. Edward Parke and John Bowden designed the building at John Leslie Foster's request, creating a formal civic centrepiece rather than a modest administrative frontage. Inside, columned spaces, stairs and glazed domes reward closer inspection. The building is still used for justice, so its history has not become detached from its original role. The Courts Service's virtual tours offer a way to experience the interior without assuming that a working courtroom is freely open.

What survives, and why it matters

A continuing judicial institution and one of the town's defining pieces of civic architecture.