Description

Built around 1877 with No. 48 added by 1893. Terrace of four two-storey, non-symmetrical villas designed on a theme. Nos 50, 52 and 54 are two bays wide and No 48 is three bays wide. Built in squared and snecked sandstone rubble with polished ashlar to the principal (east) elevation. There are base, dividing band between the ground and first floors and eaves courses. The first floor windows have raised and shaped window surrounds at the first floor. Each villa has a full-height canted window with a parapet with semi-circular cresting and blinded oculi. Each entrance has a pilastered doorpiece, with carved floreate brackets (those to No 48 are plain) and stylized caps to the entablature and a cornice. There are two-leaf panelled door with plate glass fanlights.

The windows are predominantly four-pane sash and case. The piended roof has grey slates with dividing coping between each villa. There are three corniced ridge chimney stacks and two shouldered wallhead chimney stacks (rendered and lined at the south). There is a later box dormer next to the chimney stack on the south gable. The cast iron gutters have a moulded profile .

Interiors: not seen 1990.

There is a low coped rubble boundary wall to the front and taller stone walls to the side.

Statement of Interest

The buildings have design interest for the level of distinguishing architectural details, particular to the street elevation. The four houses have distinctive corniced doorpieces with semi-circular and carved foliate details, which are linked by a first floor string course. The semi-circular motif is repeated in the stone parapets over the canted bay windows. There is other moulded stonework in the first floor window surrounds and the cornice. This terrace is located on a main road in the southern suburbs of Edinburgh. They were built as the city was expanding southwards in the later 19th century.

Numbers 50-54 are shown on the 1877 Ordnance Survey Town Plan where the group of three is marked as 'Allen Terrace'. The map shows a large L-plan stable yard and buildings yard wrapping around the group to the rear with gated access from Mayfield Road. The fourth villa (no.48) was built later and is not shown until the Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (surveyed 1893 , published 1896). It is larger than the existing three in the terrace.

Listed building record updated in 2019.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56632586

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

• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)