Description

J W Maclean, dated 1887. 3-storey, Flemish style corner block. 7 asymmetric bays to both Newmills Road and Lothian Street, broad taller chamfered corner tower bay. Squared and snecked bull-fased masonry; corner tower ashlar with red freestone nook-shafts. Ashlar dressings. Band course between ground and 1st floors on N elevation. Stepped moulded string courses at cill level on 1st floor and between 1st and 2nd floors. Eaves course and moulded eaves gutter. Some original shouldered openings at ground. Chamfered reveals, stop-chamfered above cill. Gabled dormerheads, with hoodmoulded panels, kneelers and ball finials.

NW (CORNER) ELEVATION: modern depressed-arched opening (replacing moulded and columned opening) with recessed modern glazed tripartite door. Recessed moulded round-arched panel to 1st and 2nd floors, with flanking colonnettes, containing 2-storey canted window with leaded half-piend roof. Outer nook-shafts rise to eaves cornice. String courses at eaves level of side elevations, at cill level on 2nd floor and stepped over inscribed date "1887" between 1st and 2nd floors. Moulded round-arched panel breaking eaves, containing clock, supported on corbelled clusters of squat colonnettes, breaking eaves course and cornice. N and W sides of tower slate-hung below eaves cornice.

N (NEWMILLS ROAD) ELEVATION: 3-bay original shop front with central recessed door and original 2-bay shop front with recessed door to left, flanked by fanlit tenement doors, asymmetrically grouped at ground to centre and left of centre. Modern facade with 3 display windows to right, extending around corner. Dutch gable over 3 centre bays, with apex pediment and hoodmoulded oculus, and recessed round-arched panel over 2nd floor window below; doemerheads in penultimate left and outer bays. Canted oriel windows, with cornice and fluted blocking course, at 1st floor in outer bays, breaking shop fascia to right. Bipartite windows at 2nd floor in outer bays and in bracketted ashlar panel in penultimate bay to left; 1st floor window out-of-line in bay to right of centre; small window at 2nd floor between outer and penultimate left bays.

W (LOTHIAN STREET) ELEVATION: asymmetrically grouped ground floor: modern 3-bay facade with 2 display windows to left of centre, original door and display window in bay to right of centre, later 3-bay shop front with recessed door to right in penultimate bay to right and 2 origianl doors in outer right bay, taller door to right. Dutch gable, detailed as above, over 3 centre bays. Dormerheads, detailed as above, in outer right and penultimate left and right bays. Canted orial window, detailed as above, at 1st floor in outer right bay. Regularly disposed fenestration: bipartite windows at 2nd floor in outer right bay and in bracketted panels in penultimate left and right bays. Window at 1st and 2nd floor between penultimate and outer right bays.

S ELEVATION: blank above adjoining 2-storey former service wing, No 4 Lothian Street (see separate listing).

2 and 4-pane glazing patterns in sash and case windows of various sizes. Coped skews. Stacks, gablehead to E, several ridge and shouldered wallhead to left of tower to N. Pyramidal roof to tower; bracketted upper stage with thistle-finialled louvred gabled lucarnes on each face; weathervane. Grey-green slates. Some original cans. Original rainwater goods, piercing string courses.

Statement of Interest

Dalkeith Co-operative Society was founded in 1861 and occupied 2 different premises in High Street until this building was purpose-built at a cost of nearly ?7000. The new premises were officially opened on 12 May 1888. It was sold to Dalkeith Town Council in 1968 when the Co-op moved to Eskdaill Court.

Originally referred to as the People's Palace, the building contained grocery, bread, ironmongery, millinery, drapery, boot and tailoring departments, all inter-connected on the ground floor. On the upper floors were flour and general stores, dwelling houses, and milliners', dressmakers' and tailors' workshops, which were entered by a stair from the court at the rear. The court itself contained stables, van sheds and a paraffin house, and also hoists to service the stores on the upper floors of the 2-storey service wing, No 4A Lothian Street (see separate listing).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56629755

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

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