A tolbooth or town house (Towebuith) was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three essential features in a Scottish burgh, along with the mercat cross and the kirk (church). Burghs were... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolbooth
Originally a tolbooth was the booth at a fair in which dues were collected and offenders against fair regulations were detained. Later the term was applied to a town prison, particularly in Scotland. Found on http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/browse/AT.HTM