Description

Late 18th century. Wedge-plan, 4-storey and attic, 3-bay near-symmetrical tenement block. Droved ashlar with polished cills, mullions and cornice (coursed rubble to rear). Pilastraded timber shopfront at ground floor; cill band to all upper floors; mutuled eaves cornice; blocking course. Regularly fenestrated.

NW (LEITH STREET) ELEVATION: set-back modern door at centre, flanked left and right by large windows. At far left, timber-panelled door with square fanlight set in segmental-arched opening. Upper floors have blind window at centre flanked either side by tripartite window. 2 piend-roofed dormers to roof above.

SE (REAR) ELEVATION: 4-bay, 7 storey elevation. Predominantly irregular fenestration with droved margins; some openings later enlargements or additions.

GLAZING etc: modern plate glass in timber frames to ground floor. Predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows to upper floors and dormers; 4-pane glazing in timber sash and case to outer sections of tripartite windows. Grey slate roofs and haffits to dormers. Pitched roof; grey slate; stone skews and skewputts. Brick gablehead stack with circular cans to right, brick ridge stack to left.

Statement of Interest

Part of an 'A' Group with Nos 6-20 Waterloo Place, Nos 1-29 Waterloo Place, Waverleygate, Regent Bridge, Register House, Balmoral Hoel and 5-43 Leith Street.

The tenements that now remain on the south side of Leith Street were built as upmarket flats on land feued by the magistrates to speculative builders from 1780 onwards. They are important as early examples of speculative tenement design in the New Town, for their continuity of frontage with 1-9 Waterloo Place, and also for their function providing a screen for the rear elevation of Waterloo Place.

In 1979-80 the buildings were renovated by Bamber, Gray and Partners.

The west side of Leith Street (demolished in 1965 to make way for the St James Centre) was known as Leith Street Terrace, and featured a pedestrian walkway/ terrace at first storey level, providing access to an upper tier of shops. The basis of the scheme was a design by Robert Adam in 1786; that which was built was a simplified version of Adam's designs (amended possibly by James Salisbury).

The present dormers to the roof of 13-15 Leith Street are not original, and replace tripartite dormers which complemented the fenestration pattern below.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17811445

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

• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)