Description

Circa 1790; early 19th century alterations; restored by Robert Hurd & Partners, 1970. 3-storey basement and attic, 3-bay terraced former classical house. Polished sandstone ashlar (some replacement stones). Square cut rustication at ground; moulded cill course at 1st floor; mutuled cornice; long and short quoins. Moulded architraves, cornices at 1st floor. Stop-fluted pilastered doorpiece with fluted frieze to right, containing pilastered tripartite doorway with cornice stepping back over door and large semicircular fanlight (metal decorative glazing). Pair of bowed slate-hung dormers.

Coursed rubble 2-bay rear elevation; right bay 3-storey and attic with later projecting closet tower; left bay 4-storey semicircular bow with conical roof; pair of windows at ground, Venetian window at ground and 1st floors.

Timber sash and case 12-pane windows (16-pane to dormers). Ashlar coped mutual skews; dressed stone mutual stacks; further stack on bow to rear; grey slates.

INTERIOR: generally very fine and distinctive. Entrance lobby with enriched ceiling and arcaded screen, with fluted pilasters and metal fanlights, to inner hall, with further arcaded screen, to central stairwell. Curving cantilevered stair with round iron banisters; inventive strip with circular glazing lights enclosed basement stair; circular cupola with very fine decorative plasterwork. Former Dining Room with stripped timberwork; fluted pilastered recess, panelled dado, pilastered gesso chimneypiece, dentilled cornice. Rear left room with marble chimneypiece (installed), and recess on inner wall filled with enriched timber press. Rear right room bow-ended with pilastered Venetian window, enriched ceiling(oval containing swags) and gesso chimneypiece. At 1st floor former Drawing Room with swagged frieze to cornice, oval neo-classical ceiling, pair of corniced double doors, panelled dado, and gesso chimneypiece. Double doors to rear left room with fluted Ionic columned screen and black marble chimneypiece. Rear right room with Venetian window with fluted piasters in bow, gesso chimneypiece. At 2nd floor bow room with gesso chimneypiece.

RAILINGS AND LAMP STANDARDS: cast-iron spearhead railings; pair of iron lamp standards flank steps.

Statement of Interest

A particularly fine interior, although many of the chimneypieces are later additions. The doorpiece established a pattern which was to be copied several times further along the street. This house forms a perfect pair with No 51, and completes a symmetrical block incorporating Nos 49 and 50 (see separate listings). They were perhaps built by the same builder, or at least on the same feu, and constitute a significant surviving part of the original fabric of Edinburgh?s New Town, one of the most important and best preserved examples of urban planning in Britain; Queen Street was built to take advantage of the northern views, and has survived remarkably unaltered to this day.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17576697

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)