Standing on a small "traffic island" the Tolbooth Steeple dominates Glasgow Cross. Originally built in 1636 the seven-storey 126 feet high Tolbooth is the Cross’s most important feature and is topped by a clock and a stone crown. Once part of a much larger building, the Tolbooth provided accommodation for the Town Clerk’s office, the council hall and the city prison. It was also a backdrop to many an execution by hanging of witches, thieves and murderers. All that remains today is the steeple sitting on a junction of five roads and a load of traffic.
