Description

J Gillespie Graham, designed 1823; executed by Robert Hutchinson. 4-storey, 10-bay classical tenement and shops on prominent corner; curved and recessed single bay to corner; basement area to street including some vaulted cellars and retaining walls to Alva Street. Sandstone ashlar, channelled at ground floor, droved at basement. Banded cill course at 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. Corniced eaves course. Architraved and corniced openings to 1st and 2nd floors. Advanced timber and plate glass shop front to No. 14 Queensferry Street set over basement, in channelled ashlar to Alva Street. Round arched doorway surrounds to Alva Street, some with radial glazing, some blind windows. Cast-iron bowed anthemion balconies at 1st floor.

REAR ELEVATION: regular squared coursed rubble with tooled ashlar rybats and lintels to openings. Regular fenestration. Various later additions to attic. Some boundary walls retained with mews buildings to Queensferry Street lane. Various later alterations to convert to car parking, various later steel garage doors inserted.

Plate glass in timber frames to ground floor shop fronts. 12-and 15-pane in timber sash and case windows above. Grey slates. Corniced ashlar wallhead stacks; modern clay cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

Statement of Interest

Well-detailed tenement design by James Gillespie Graham. This end block turns the corner into Queensferry Street and is prominently situated at the edge of the former Walker Estate. The plain but well-executed finish and the inclusion of a 4th storey allows the tenement to assert itself over the surrounding streetscape, which is predominantly 2-and 3-storey. The anthemion balconies are a particularly good survival and echo the simple neo Greek interiors which originally featured.

James Gillespie Graham was best known for designing country houses and churches in the Gothic style, and his work was predominantly on Gothic churches and castellated country houses. He produced relatively little classical work, but in addition to Gray's House in Elgin (see separate listing) his most notable work was the Moray Estate. The monumental style of the architecture, in which he was influenced by Adam's Charlotte Square (see separate listing) can also be seen in Alva Street which takes the form of end pavilions flanking a central run of terraced townhouses.

(List description revised 2009 as part of re-survey.)

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17571618

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.

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