Description

1867. Large 2-storey house (now flatted) making 17th century Scottish references. 4-stage octagonal outlook tower with ogee roof and weathervane. Stugged coursed pale sandstone with ashlar dressings.

W (TRINITY ROAD) ELEVATION: 3-bay, with moulded dividing course between ground and 2nd floor. Entrance in crenellated single-storey porch to centre bay which overlaps advanced left bay. Timber panelled door with rectangular fanlight in roll-moulded surround, single window in right return; window at 1st floor with semicircular dormerhead breaking eaves, containing fan-shaped relief carving in corniced frame supported by consoles, and surmounted by crescent finial. Advanced gabled bay to left with buckled quoins, finial, kneelered skews and moulded skewputs; crenellated canted window to ground floor, with heraldic carving in centre crenellation; shoulder-arched 2-light window in gable with buckled tabs and strapwork over; small hoodmoulded, segmental-headed window above. Piend-roofed canted window at ground floor to right; window at 1st floor with curvilinear gablehead breaking eaves, containing quatrefoil carving in corniced frame and surmounted by thistle finial.

N ELEVATION: 2, 2-storey gabled bays, with 4-stage tower attached to left bay. Slightly advanced right bay corbelled out at 1st floor level, with shoulder-arched, 2-light windows at ground and 1st floor, roll-moulded arrow slit window in gablehead; stepped dividing course between ground and 2nd floor; kneelered skew with moulded skewputs, diamond-shaped finial. Roll-moulded surround to single window at ground, arrow slit window at 1st floor to left bay. Tower butressed at corners; roll-moulded surrounds to single windows on each face at ground floor; narrow single windows with strapwork decoration above at 1st stage; narrow windows with roll-moulded surrounds at 3rd stage; stepped dividing course between 3rd and 4th stage; shoulder-arched openings with roll-moulding to parapetted viewing platform at 4th stage; cornice, ogee roof and weathervane.

E (REAR) ELEVATION: 5-bay; modern extension attached to ground floor. Narrow outer right bay with stepped gable and corbelled gablehead stack; single window at 1st floor; arrow slit window with chamfered reveals in gablehead. Single window with gablehead breaking eaves at 1st floor in penultimate bay to right. 3-light stone-mullioned window in centre bay. Narrow window with curvilinear gablehead surmounted by thistle finial breaking eaves toleft. Left bay has corbelled chimney-breast with decorative stepped course.

S ELEVATION: advanced right bay has projecting swept half-piend roofed 3-light stone-mullioned window at ground floor; 2-light window at 1st floor with stop-chamfered reveals and stepped hoodmoulding containing heraldic carving; stylised skew and ball finial to gablehead. Left bay has single window to left at ground floor, gabled conservatory to right; stepped dividing course; chimney-breast corbelled to square in gablehead, with decorative moulding above and corbelled stack; gabletted crowsteps.

Glazing predominantly plate glass in timber sash and case windows. Graded grey slates. Decorative cast-iron supports to rhones, some decorative hoppers to downpipes.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATEPIERS: snecked and squared sandstone rubble stone coped boundary walls; 2 sets of stugged ashlar gatepiers with projecting base, stop chamfered corners, platformed pyramidal caps and ball finials.

Statement of Interest

Wallace says the house was built for Leith merchant William Laing.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17794022

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

• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2