Description

1954, Robert Hurd. Rebuild of 1624 townhouse incorporating some original stonework. 3-storey and attic with crowstepped gables and shop to ground. Roughly squared and snecked sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings. Broken string course between gound and 1st floors. Corbelled-out oriel window with blind opening to far left. Broad, crowstepped gabled stair tower with timber door and thistle finial to right; re-used moulded lintel above door with Latin inscription 'O Lord I put my trust in thee, let nothing work me harm'. Rear elevation plain, harled with irregular fenestration.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows with horns and 6-pane timber sash and case windows to stair tower. Tall and narrow end stack to E. Clay cans.

Statement of Interest

Nos 82 and 84 Canongate was extensively rebuilt as part of Robert Hurd's Canongate regeneration scheme during the 1950s. It incorporates stones from the original building and retains the general proportions of the 17th century principal façade, contributing significant character and streetscape value. The buildings' squared corner-oriel and recessed stair tower are rebuilt following the pattern of the original building. Hurd, a key figure in Scotland's post-war tradition of 'conservation surgery' and president of the Saltire Society, proposed 'selective redevelopment around retained architectural setpieces'. Nos 82 and 84 contribute significantly to this section of the Canongate streetscape. The property was originally built in 1624 for Nisbet of Dirleton, a renowned anti-Covenanter and Judge of the Court of Session.

The historic and architectural value of Edinburgh's Canongate area as a whole cannot be overstated. Embodying a spirit of permanence while constantly evolving, its buildings reflect nearly 1000 years of political, religious and civic development in Scotland. The Canons of Holyrood Abbey were given leave by King David I to found the burgh of Canongate in 1140. Either side of the street (a volcanic ridge) was divided into long, narrow strips of land or 'tofts'. By the end of the 15th century all the tofts were occupied, some subdivided into 'forelands' and 'backlands' under different ownership. Fuedal superiority over Canongate ceased after 1560. The following century was a period of wide-scale rebuilding and it was during this time that most of the areas' mansions and fine townhouses were constructed, usually towards the back of the tofts, away from the squalor of the main street. The 17th century also saw the amalgamation of the narrow plots and their redevelopment as courtyards surrounded by tenements. The burgh was formally incorporated into the City in 1856. Throughout the 19th Century the Canongate's prosperity declined as large sections of the nobility and middle classes moved out of the area in favour of the grandeur and improved facilities of Edinburgh's New Town, a short distance to the North. The Improvement Act of 1867 made efforts to address this, responding early on with large-scale slum clearance and redevelopment of entire street frontages. A further Improvement Act (1893) was in part a reaction to this 'maximum intervention', responding with a programme of relatively small-scale changes within the existing street pattern. This latter approach was more consistent with Patrick Geddes' concept of 'conservative surgery'. Geddes was a renowned intellectual who lived in the Old Town and was a pioneer of the modern conservation movement in Scotland which gathered momentum throughout the 20th century. Extensive rebuilding and infilling of sections of the Canongate's many tenements took place, most notably by city architects, E J McRae and Robert Hurd (mid 20th century) with some early frontages retained and others rebuilt in replica.

List description updated at resurvey (2007/08).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17795711

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

• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)