Description

George Smith, 1845. Narrow, 4-storey and attic, 3-bay, Scots Jacobean commercial building with corbelled and shouldered wallhead gable. Basket-arched pend to Borthwicks Close to ground floor left. Later frontage to police centre to right. Ornamental bracketed cornice between ground and 1st floor. 1st floor windows corniced with strapwork pediments. Cill course to 2nd floor; ornamental cornices above. Projecting bracketed cills to 3rd floor windows. Bracketed, corbelled-out wallhead attic gable breaking eaves; bipartite segmental-arched window to centre with shouldered hoodmould and needle finial at apex. 6-storey to rear with further corbelled gable to side (W) elevation.

12, 8 and 4-pane timber sash and case windows. Grey slate. Particularly broad axial ashlar stacks. Clay cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

Statement of Interest

No 186 and 188 is a fine example of an mid 19th century tenement. The distinctive Scots Jacobean style with its strapwork detailing adds much to the Street's distinctive character. Built as offices for the Edinburgh Courant, one of the first newspapers in Britain (first published 1705) and the Capital's main source of local information at that time. This impressive 4-storey commercial building replaced the 6-storey tenement known as 'The Salamander Land' which survived the 1824 fire and adjoined the Police Chambers in Shepards View of 1829. The building terminates a run of unified tenements between No 126 and No 184 High Street.

The High Street is located at the heart of the Old Town and is a key component of Edinburgh's World Heritage Site designation. Historically the central focus of public, civic and commercial and residential life within the city, the High Street contains many of Edinburgh most distinguished buildings including the St Giles Kirk and Parliament Hall (see separate listings). Its special architectural and historic interest as Edinburgh's primary medieval thoroughfare is outstanding.

List description revised as part of the Edinburgh Holyrood Ward resurvey (2007/08).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17809317

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

• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments