Description

Archibald Elliot, 1815. 2-storey, castellated, irregular'plan, former Calton Jail Governor's House, with 3 and 4-stage round and polygonal towers to S and with adjoining turreted curtain wall to E and W. Dramatically situated on side of steep rocky ground of Calton Hill overlooking Waverley valley to S. Coursed and squared rubble with tooled margins. Base course, string courses, corbelled and crenellated parapets. Round-arched windows openings. Some segmental-arched windows to ground. Tower with narrow round-arch window openings.

Predominantly timber sash and case windows with mixture of glazing patterns; some 4 over 2-pane, some 5 over 4-pane, some 9 over 6-pane. Grey slates and lead flashings to roof. Wallhead stack with polygonal cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: (seen 2007). Comprehensively modernised. Retains tight, open spiral staircase with stone treads, with timber and iron balustrade.

CURTAIN WALLS: to the E and W of the house. Tall, battered, coped rubble walls interspersed with castellated turrets, built on the side of the steep rocky slopes of Calton Hill and following the undulations of the hillside.

Statement of Interest

The castellated and turreted form of the former Governor's House combined with its dramatic and spectacular situation makes this arguably one of the finest Picturesque buildings in the country. It is the only complete building to survive from the previous Calton Jail of 1815, which was the largest prison in Scotland. The Gothic appearance of the house is atypical for early 19th century Edinburgh and the juxtaposition of the different height levels of the landscape helped to create this remarkable building. The house has been altered internally, but retains its original narrow spiral staircase.

The building was the Governor's House for the Calton Jail of 1815 which stood to the North of it and the house contained private apartments as well as a Committee room for the use of the Commissioners, who governed the prison. The curtain wall enclosed both the new prison and also the older one by Robert Adam, which had been built in 1791. The Jail was demolished in the 1930s to make way for St Andrews House (see separate listing).

There were some complaints at the time of construction which suggested that this building was too Gothic in its architecture, but Sir Walter Scott replied that the situation of this building, on the edge of a precipice and overlooking other buildings like a citadel was a highly appropriate place for a Gothic building.

Archibald Elliot (1760-1823) was one of the leading Edinburgh architects in the early 19th century. Elliot was particularly well-versed in the Gothic style and used it for the majority of his work, including some of his country house commissions. He was the architect responsible for much of the building of Regent Road and Waterloo Place.

References from precious list description: Georgian Edinburgh 40.

List description updated as part of Edinburgh Holyrood Ward resurvey 2007-08.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Governor's House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5589466

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

• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House