Description

Dated 1881, carved initials PBC(?), 3-storey Baronial tenement, with roofline display and shops at ground floor. 8-bay on corner site. Stugged brown sandstone ashlar with eroded and chamfered dressings. Moulded eaves course.

N (HIGH STREET) ELEVATION: 4-bay above shops with chamfered angle bay to outer right.

3 shopfronts to ground floor, also 2 stair access doors; 2 shopfronts largely original with stallrisers and stone fascias, painted, corner shopfront without fascia but with lugged hoodmould; all doors panelled, plain fanlights, stair doorways with moulded surrounds, one with round-arched hood moulding. Corner bay corbelled out to 1st floor and again to 2nd in pepperpot tower; single window to 1st floor, bipartite window to 2nd with lugged hoodmould. Next bay to E with bipartite windows and lugged hoodmoulds to both 1st and 2nd floors, topped by crowstepped gable with thistle finial. 3 eastern bays with single or bipartite windows to 1st floor, single windows to 2nd breaking eaves in finialled dormerheads.

W (NEW STREET) ELEVATION: 3-bay. 2 shopfront windows to ground floor, outerleft with lugged hoodmould, outer right with bipartite window.

3 bipartite windows to 1st floor, northmost with hood moulding.

2 windows at 2nd floor (absent from northmost bay), dormerheads breaking eaves, finials missing.

S AND E (REAR) ELEVATIONS: awkward corner site. External stair to open galleried landings, with interesting projecting rounded brick tower to right (E), presumably containing lavatories. Windows in regular pattern, canted dormerhead breaking eaves on eastmost bay only: small windows to brick tower. Doors originally 4-panelled with plain fanlight, mostly replaced.

Windows originally timber sash and case, plate glass to front, 4-pane to rear, mostly modern replacements. Roof in graded grey Scotch slate, gabled with skews. 3 ashlar stacks to gables and ridge, projecting cope, variety of plain cans (6 to each?); single shouldered stack rising from eaves on W elevation, rebuilt and smooth rendered, 4 plain cans. Decorative rainwater hoppers.

Statement of Interest

Reminiscent of Baronial tenements of Marchmont in Edinburgh. Carved initials are difficult to decipher, but if ?PBC? could they mean Prestonpans Building Company?

The building apparently has temperance connections. Local information suggests that the ground floor (at least) was intended as ?....a place in which to encourage social intercourse without the consumption of alcohol?.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77771604

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

• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair