Description

Probably James Milne, 1815-26. 2-storey, 3-bay and basement terraced classical townhouse; prominent garden fronting the street. Sandstone ashlar, coursed squared rubble with ashlar rybats at basement. Entrance platt oversailing basement area recess to garden. Banded base course and narrow banded cill course at ground floor; deep banded cill course at 1st floor incorporating fluted aprons to 1st floor windows; corniced eaves course. Moulded architraved, bracketed and corniced doorways with 6-panel boarded timber door and rectangular fanlight with geometric glazing pattern. 2-bay blind return to left (NW).

NE (REAR) ELEVATION: coursed rubble with tooled ashlar rybats, cills and lintels. Regular fenestration

12-pane glazing pattern in timber sash and case windows. Piended roof; grey slates. Corniced ashlar ridge stacks with some clay cans. Cast-iron rain-water goods. Low broached ashlar wall with droved copes and gate rybats edging gardens to street, topped with cast-iron railings incorporating decorative cast-iron lamp standard with large bowl shade.

INTERIOR: (selection of interiors seen 2010) decorative classical scheme, characterised by intricate plasterwork, large drawing rooms and stone stairs with well-detailed balustrade, topped by large cupola.

Statement of Interest

44 Ann Street is a prominent and finely detailed terraced townhouse forming part of an outstanding example of early 19th century urban planning with a classically designed scheme by prominent architect James Milne. The design is well proportioned, with simple classical detailing including the use of Greek sources. The terrace was designed as a key part of the development of the land of Sir Henry Raeburn, and is an early example of classical urban planning in Edinburgh. The design exploits a prominent site at the top of the steep slope up from Stockbridge. Milne is not named as the architect in the sasines for Ann Street, but he is known to have been working elsewhere on the Raeburn estate at Upper Dean Terrace (see separate listing) and was the first resident of 17 Ann Street. The use of street fronting gardens in this design is early and unusual, echoing Milne's work at both Upper Dean Terrace and Lynedoch Place (see separate listings). The building is an integral part of Edinburgh's New Town, which is an outstanding example of classical urban planning that was influential throughout Britain and Europe.

Henry Raeburn was born in Stockbridge and acquired the house and grounds of Deanhaugh through marriage, before adding adjacent land at St Bernard's. He occupied St Bernard's House until his death in 1823 when it was demolished to accommodate the growing residential development of the estate, making space for the eastern side of Carlton Street. The authorship of James Milne for the whole development is not certain, but the elevations for the principal streets bear the characteristic features of his designs elsewhere, such as Lynedoch Place (see separate listing) where the street fronting gardens found on Ann Street are also used. The design of Ann Street was originally intended to be replicated elsewhere in Raeburn's development, with three similar parallel streets, but this plan was later revised to the current layout sometime after 1814.

James Milne was an architect and mason working in Edinburgh between 1809 and 1834 (when he moved to Newcastle). His other works in Edinburgh also include Lynedoch Place and Saxe-Coburg Place (see separate listings). Milne was also the author of The Elements of Architecture only the 1st volume of which was published in Edinburgh in 1812.

(List description updated at re-survey 2012).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17571934

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

• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)