Description

The former Skinner's Hall (2 and 4 New Skinner's Close) is a three-storey and attic, former L-plan hall dating from 1643 with 19^th century extensions to the south and west. It now forms a roughly T-plan residential property. It is rubble-built with tooled and polished dressings, chamfered arrises at the windows, and long and short quoins. The east elevation and the end gables are rendered.

The former Skinner's Hall has a semi-octagonal, capped stair tower with a roll-moulded, architraved doorway with cornice in the northwest re-entrant angle. There is a small splay at the west corner of the north gable. Single bays flank the stair tower and pedimented dormers (one with a spherical finial) break the roof eaves.

A four-bay tenement block (built around 1800) adjoins to the west of the former Skinner's Hall and has a shallower roof pitch, a central wallhead gable and a chimneystack to the apex of the west gable. Shouldered and pedimented dormers break the roof eaves to the rear (courtyard) elevation. A squared and snecked rubble-built tenement block (built around 1850) adjoins to the south of the former Skinner's Hall and has a shallower roof pitch. There are pedimented dormers breaking the roof eaves at the third floor. The south gable is partially crow-stepped and has a broad end chimneystack and a square advanced chimneystack to southwest corner.

There is a raised terrace at the rear of 2 and 4 New Skinner's Close and forestairs with iron railings attached to the west elevation of 1 to 4 Coinyie House Close leading to a paved courtyard area and former drying green.

The building has predominantly 12- and 16-pane glazing in replacement timber sash and case frames. The roof is covered in graded, grey Scottish slate and there are coped end and wall-head gable chimneystacks in a mixture of sizes. There are cast-iron rainwater goods.

The building was converted to flats in around 1981. Internally, numbers 2 and 4 New Skinner's Close are understood to retain two 17^th century moulded fireplace surrounds at first floor level and an 18^th century wooden chimneypiece with urns and flower motif (Buildings of Scotland).

Statement of Interest

Numbers 2 and 4 New Skinner's Close is a good, rare survival of 17^th century architecture in this area of Edinburgh. The exterior of this imposing building retains a significant amount of its earlier character and is notable for its fine rubble construction and semi-octagonal, re-entrant angle stair-tower. The splayed opening on the north gable probably served as a lookout along the axis of the former close to the north (now blocked and rendered).

This building was built as Skinner's Hall during the early years of the 17^th century. It is located north of the site of the former Edinburgh Mint known as Coinyie House (demolished after 1867). Skinner's Hall was known as Cross House from the 19^th century until well into the 20^th century. It was converted into the United Industrial School around 1847 and the extension to the south was added around 1850. The building later became St. Anne's Roman Catholic School until the 1970s after which the hall was used as a theatre space for a time. The building was converted to housing by the City Architect's Department in 1981.

The statutory address was updated and the description revised as part of the Edinburgh Holyrood Ward Resurvey in 2007-08. Previously listed as '31 Blackfriars Street (part of St Annes RC School)'. In 2011, the statutory address was updated from '3 and 4 South Gray's Close' to '3 and 4 Coinyie House Close'.

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2021. Previously listed as '2-4 (Even Nos) New Skinner's Close (Former Skinner's Hall) including 3 And 4 Coinyie House Close'.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17572159

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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