Description

Sir James Gowans, 1868-70. 3-storey and attic mansard-roofed corner tenement block (basement to Nos 30 and 32) with idiosyncratic details; 2 bays to NE, 3 bays to SE and splayed corner bay to E. Polished ashlar, banded to ground. String courses dividing floors; stone bracketed eaves. Decorative bracketed surrounds to windows. Serrated Moorish lintels to 1st floor. Round-arched windows to 3rd floor push up bracketed eaves below dormers.

NE ELEVATION: round-arched window to right with round-arched stone mullion in recess with serrated carved decoration in spandrels. Hooded dormers to attic.

E ELEVATION: gabled corner bay, flanked by pilaster strips with bracketed cornices at ground and 2nd floor levels, topped by carved putti; 2-leaf timber panelled door in Serlian surround with hooded round-arched fanlight (blocked) and sidelights; tripartite windows above with decorative stone mullions (hoodmoulded to 2nd); hooded pentagonal window in gable with ridged soffit; heraldic device above; statue crowned female figure) on flattened apex of gable; fish-scales and cross-banding to gable skew.

SE ELEVATION: entrance in left bay: timber panelled door with round-arched fanlight in round-arched glazed doorpiece with flanking side-lights in recess with serrated carved decoration in spandrels. Tripartite windows with decorative stone mullions to ground, 1st and 2nd in centre bay (in recessed panels to ground and 1st, chip carved to ground). Steeply-pitched dormers with stone bracketed eaves to left and centre bays of attic; small hooded dormer to right.

Predominantly plate glass in timber sash and case windows. Graded grey slates. Moulded stone ridge. Fluted ashlar stalks with scalloped, bracketed cornices; decorative octagonal cans with serrated tops.

BOUNDARY WALL AND RAILINGS: decorative cast-iron railings on low ashlar boundary wall with stone piers marking entrance at No 32.

Statement of Interest

Part of a larger ensemble designed by Gowans: with characteristically logical planning, idiosyncratic detailing and exemplary execution. Design based on multiples of 2 ft and angles of 22.5, 45 and 67.5 degrees. 'The Builder' admires Gowans' plan, with 'the water closets all ventilated from the outside,' and 'dark bedrooms at the centre of corner blocks got rid of,' but not the 'geometric details,' considering them to have 'novelty value only,' and 'more suited for execution in wood,' while admitting 'the general effect' to be 'striking and picturesque.' The ground on the opposite side of Castle Terrace, where the multi-storey car park now is, was to be a public boulevard, the rest railed off and laid out as garden ground for residents. Gowans himself had an office at No 31. The A Group comprises 11-15 Cornwall Street, 25 Castle Terrace and 17 Cornwall Street, 26-28 Castle Terrace, 29 Castle Terrace, 30, 31 and 32 Castle Terrace, 33, 34 and 35 Castle Terrace and 36 Castle Terrace.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17569890

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

• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability