Description

John Lessels, 1862-70. 3-storey attic and basements, extensive astylar renaissance terrace with unified townhouse façade and main-door and common stair flats behind, slightly advanced 4-storey corner blocks; later ashlar attic storey to W corner block. Basement area to street including some vaulted cellars and retaining walls. Sandstone ashlar; droved ashlar at basement, channelled ashlar at ground floor. Entrance platts oversailing basements. Banded base course between basement and ground floor. Banded cill courses at 1st and 2nd floors; E corner block; moulded cill courses; bracketed cills at 2nd floor. Moulded cill course at attic, fielded panels alternating with windows above. Corniced consoled eaves course. Architraved windows, corniced at 1st floor. W corner block: stepped parapet with plain fielded panels. Recessed round arched surrounds at ground floor; corniced and pedimented at 1st floor. Centre terrace: architraved windows at 1st floor, segementally arched and with small rosette to cornice in alternate openings. Moulded architraved windows at 2nd floor. Cast-iron balconies.

Plate glass in timber sash and case windows. Timber 6-panel doors in round arched surrounds with plain fanlight. Additional narrow sidelights to W corner block. Double pitch M-section roof; grey slates. Corniced ashlar gable and ridge stacks with modern clay cans. Cast-iron railings on ashlar coping stone edging basement recess to street. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

Statement of Interest

This is a well detailed and largely unaltered example of a Victorian terrace, designed by John Lessels. The uninterrupted run of terraces has been affected little by later alterations, and is amongst the finest of its type. The Astylar Renaissance style of the block is more characteristic of the earlier parts of the Walker Estate whilst the rosettes are characteristic of a more decorated Victorian style. The east corner block is also clearly reminiscent of Robert Brown's designs for earlier parts of the Walker Estate (see separate listings for Melville Street).

John Lessels secured the control over the Walker Estate in 1850, only 4 years after he had set up practice on his own in 1846. He later went on to work for the City Improvement Trust in Edinburgh, and gained a wide experience of residential design with further designs in both the old and new towns of Edinburgh as well as some large commissions such as significant alterations to George Watson's Hospital.

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

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17796520

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

• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)