Description

Circa 1790, with mid 19th century internal alterations. 3-storey basement and attic, 3-bay former terraced classical house. Polished Craigleith sandstone ashlar (cleaned with some replacement stones). Channelled rustication at ground; long and short quoins. Moulded architraves; 1st floor windows corniced, cills lowered (cill course removed). To left, stop-fluted pilastered doorpiece with fluted frieze, containing pilastered tripartite doorway with cornice stepping back over door and large semi-circular fanlight (metal decorative glazing); 9-panelled door. Pair of piend-roofed dormers.

Coursed rubble 2-bay rear elevation; right bay 4-storey and bowed, left bay 3-storey and attic formerly with tripartite window to each floor; at 1st floor converted to single window with Tudor glazing pattern.

Timber sash and case 12-pane windows (18-pane to 1st floor). Ashlar coped mutual skew; dressed stone mutual stacks (part rendered to W); grey slates.

INTERIOR: glazed screen in entrance hall; curving central stair goes up to attic with plain square iron banisters replaced at ground by panelled straight flight with timber barley-twist banisters and pendant bosses; circular cupola with supporting cove enriched with wheat ears. Former Dining Room with 19th century cornice; later slapping to rear right room with painted carved timber chimneypiece with marble slips. At 1st floor, former Drawing Room subdivided (cornices re-run); swagged and dentilled cornice, plaster panelled walls, panelled dado; door to inner lobby with quadripartite rib vault. Rear room beyond with plaster panelling, panelled dado, Gothick panelled Glen Tilt marble chimneypiece and doors, including (false?) double doors to lobby, panelled splay to Tudor-arched window, foliate cornice.

RAILINGS: cast-iron spearhead railings.

Statement of Interest

A significant surviving part of the original fabric of Edinburgh?s New Town, one of the most important and best preserved examples of urban planning in Britain; Queen Street was built to take advantage of the northern views, and has survived remarkably unaltered to this day. Compare with No 53. The alterations at 1st floor, and especially the inner lobby, are something of a mystery. There are access points at each floor, currently (1995) either blocked or locked, to No 55.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17576724

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

• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)