Description

Robert Brown, 1825. Classical tenement range with advanced 3-bay pavilions to outer left and right, and quadrant corner with Ionic columns to ground floor to junction with Annandale Street; symmetrical 3-storey, attic and basement elevations; 15 bays to Haddington Place, 3 bays to corner elevation. Polished ashlar (some painted sections to ground floor; droved ashlar to basement of Haddington Place elevation and right section of SW elevation; coursed squared rubble with dressed margins to rear). Dividing band between basement and ground floor; continuous cornice to ground floor; continuous cast iron trellis balconette to 1st floor; cill band to 2nd floor; band course and main cornice between 2nd and attic floor; eaves cornice; balustraded parapet (solid parapet to pavilions, with sunk panelling and St Andrews cross detail to centre; to curved elevation, strigillated panel with rosette, flanked by large scrolls). Regular fenestration; architraved and corniced windows to 1st floor (consoled pediments to windows to central bay of pavilions and corner elevation); architraved windows to 2nd floor.

NE (CORNER) ELEVATION: hoodmoulded round-arched openings to basement, approached by T-plan stair; modern 2-leaf glazed door with segmental fanlight to centre bay. 6 Roman Ionic columns dividing bays to ground floor (paired columns flanking central bay; single outer columns).

SE (HADDINGTON PLACE) ELEVATION: to central bay of left pavilion and centre section, recessed doorways framed by fluted Ionic columns (original arrangement altered to right pavilion where centre bay is now a window, with door to right bay); paired antae dividing bays to central section, with doorways to 2 outer bays to left and right; all doors timber panelled (to left pavilion, 2-leaf timber and glazed door) with 4-light fanlight (6-pane fanlight to right pavilion; blocked fanlight to outer left bay to central section). Steps and platt overarching basement recess to each doorway; to left half of range, shops to basement, extending underneath platts, with 2-leaf timber panelled and glazed doors with panelled jambs.

SW (SIDE) ELEVATION: slightly canted to centre.

GLAZING etc: predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows; 15-pane glazing to 1st floor; multi-pane glazing to basement shop windows. Double-pitched roof; grey slates, stone skews and skewputts. 1 corniced, polished ashlar gablehead stack with chamfered corners to SW; 5 corniced, polished ashlar ridge stacks with chamfered corners to front pitch; 3 corniced rendered ridge sacks to rear pitch; 3 corniced rendered wallhead stacks to rear; circular cans to all stacks.

RAILINGS: to edge of basement recess and platts, stone copes (edging basement only) surmounted by distinctive ornate cast iron railings.

Statement of Interest

1-8 Haddington Place is important as a good example of earlier 19th century high quality tenement design. It also has streetscape and historical value one of the few extant elements of the Hope estate development.

Haddington Place is built on land which once formed part of Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens. These had been transferred to the west side of Leith Walk by Professor John Hope, Professor of Botany, 1763. In 1820, the botanic gardens were moved again to their present site at Inverleith. Professor Hope died in 1786; Ainslie's map of 1804 shows the area to the west and south of the botanic garden to be the property of 'Mrs Dr Hope'. By 1817, the land is marked on Kirkwood's map as 'the property of Dr Hopes representatives', suggesting that his wife had since died and the land been inherited by his children, of which he had three sons and one daughter. In 1824-5, Sasines show that the lands were being feued for building to an agreed scheme by a Major John Hope (probably Professor Hope's second son). It seems likely that he was influenced by the success of the neighbouring Gayfield estate and the early popularity of the more recent Calton scheme, commissioned Robert Brown to design a scheme for his lands (Brown had already designed terraces for Hope at Clerk Street and Rankeillor Street, on land also inherited from Professor Hope). However, like the Calton scheme, the Hope scheme suffered badly from the rise in popularity of the West End, and very little of Brown's scheme was actually built. Only the south section of Haddington Place was completed, Annandale Street was left uncompleted to the NW end, and the only other street of the scheme to begin building, Hope (now Hopetoun) Crescent, has only two pairs of houses built to Brown's designs. The projected square to the north of Hope Crescent was not started or even named.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17570061

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

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