Description

William Playfair, designed 1825, built 1826-1833. Part of long terrace of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses; originally 2-storey, attic and basement elevations (many have additional later 3rd storeys) punctuated by 2 18-bay, 3-storey pavilions with 3-bay advanced sections to each end (Nos 11-16 and 23-28) and with 12-bay, 3-storey section to the western end (Nos 1-4); terrace stepped down at intervals to follow slope of road. Droved ashlar to basement; polished ashlar to upper floors; predominantly coursed squared rubble with dressed margins to rear elevation. To principal elevation: base course; dividing band between basement and ground floor; dividing band and cornice between ground and 1st floors; to 1st floor, continuous cast-iron trellis balcony with Greek key border; 2nd floor cill course; eaves cornice; blocking course. Painted doorpiece of fluted attached Greek Doric columns. Regular fenestration to principal elevation; architraved windows to ground and 1st floors; panelled aprons to ground floor windows; predominantly regular fenestration to rear elevation.

SE (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 3-storey and basement elevation. To basement, to centre, timber-panelled door with 3-light fanlight in segmentally-headed opening; window to left bay; to right, area under platt blocked in by wall with 2 windows. To ground floor, to right bay, steps and platt overarching basement recess leading to 2-leaf timber panelled door with triple-circle glazed letterbox fanlight.

NW (REAR) ELEVATION: 2-bay elevation; 4th storey later addition. Full height canted bay to right; to right bay to ground floor, modern extension. Eaves course.

GLAZING etc: predominantly 12-pane glazing; 15-pane glazing to 1st floor to front elevation; plate-glass to right bay to rear elevation; glazing predominantly in timber sash and case windows. M-roof with central valley; graded grey slate; stone skews and skewputts. To E and W, corniced mutual ridge stacks, preceded to front by individual octagonal flues; predominantly circular cans.

RAILINGS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: to front, edging basement recess and platt, stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings with dog bars, spear-head finials and distinctive circled border; wrought-iron lamp standard to front. To rear, forming boundary of garden, random rubble walls with predominantly flat coping.

INTERIOR: to ground floor: to lobby, small timber inner vestibule with glazed door, classically detailed timber panelling to walls including 2 mirrors, screen of pilasters and polished granite Ionic columns, simple plasterwork, coffered ceiling with modern painted decoration; to former dining room, classical black marble chimneypiece, pilastered and corniced doorpieces, compartmented ceiling with gilded shallow relief mouldings to caissons, excellent plasterwork; to rear room (W) (window slapped through to form opeing to modern extension), good plasterwork. To 1st floor: To front room (E), grey marble chimneypiece, simple plasterwork; to former drawing room (W), grey marble chimneypiece, pilastered and corniced doorpieces, 2-leaf folding doors leading to rear room, moulded borders to walls framing Anaglypa-style wallcovering, compartmented ceiling, good plasterwork, gilt pier glass; to rear room (W), grey classical marble chimneypiece, pilastered and corniced doorpieces, good plasterwork including to ceiling. To 2nd floor: to rear room (W), pilastered and corniced doorpiece, simple plasterwork. Stone cantilevered stairs with replica cast-iron balusters; to walls of stairs and landings; Anaglypta-style wall covering below dado height and forming borders above dado; rectangular cupola in compartmented ceiling; simple plasterwork to stairwell ceiling and landings.

Statement of Interest

Part of the Calton A-Group.

The bay window to rear of 26 Regent Terrace was added in 1895 and it is likely that the additional floor, and timber panelling in lobby, as well as a timber stair (which was later removed and a replica of the original reinstated) were added at the same time.

Regent Terrace forms part of the showpiece of Playfair's Eastern New Town (or Calton) scheme, and as such is an important example of the work of one of Scotland's leading early 19th century architects. Playfair was one of the major driving forces of the Greek Revival in Edinburgh at this time, and his public commissions such as the National Monument, the Royal Institution and the National Gallery (see separate listings) gave strength to Edinburgh's reputation as the Athens of the North. The Calton Scheme was one of his few domestic commissions, and the variety of designs, different for each street, demonstrates Playfair's expertise with the Grecian style and his characteristic punctilious attention to detail. The railings and balconies are important as their design features distinctive elements which Playfair repeated in large areas of the Calton scheme.

The origins of the Eastern New Town, which was to occupy the east end of Calton Hill and lands to the north of it on the ground between Easter Road and Leith Walk, lie in a 'joint plan for building' which three principal feuars (Heriot's Hospital, Trinity Hospital and Mr Allan of Hillside) entered into in 1811. In 1812 a competition was advertised for plans for laying out the grounds in question. Thirty-two plans were received, displayed and reported on by a variety of people, including eight architects. Eventually, it was decided that none of the plans was suitable. However, it was a more general report by William Stark (who died shortly after submitting it) which caught the attention of the Commissioners and formed the basis of the final scheme. Stark's central argument stressed the importance of planning around the natural contours and features of the land rather than imposing formal, symmetrical street plans upon it. After several years of little or no progress, in 1818 the Commissioners finally selected William Henry Playfair, Stark's former pupil, to plan a scheme following his master's Picturesque ideals.

The resulting scheme, presented to the Commissioners in 1819, preserved the view of and from Calton Hill by the creation of a limited triangular development of the three single-sided terraces (to make the most of the spectacular views), Royal, Regent and Carlton, on the hill itself. These looked over a huge radial street pattern, centred on the gardens of Hillside Crescent, on the land to the north. The feuing of these lower lands started well, with Elm Row, Leopold Place, Windsor Street and the west side of Hillside Crescent being built fairly swiftly. Regent Terrace was feued in 1824 and building began the next year. In 1831, nearly all the houses were complete, and by 1833, all were inhabited except No 14. However, demand for the feus in other street of the scheme faltered severely, due to the growing popularity of new properties being built to the west of the New Town. This had a particularly bad effect on Royal Terrace, where construction stopped for 20 years, leaving 2 large gaps in the Terrace and a further 3 unbuilt feus to the west end. The fate of the whole Calton scheme was sealed in 1838, when it was decided that feuars should pay poor-rates to both Edinburgh and Leith. This virtually halted development for the next thirty years. The result of all these problems was that very little of Playfair's original scheme was ever built. When building resumed in the 1880s, some of Playfair's original street lines were adhered to, as was the case with Hillside Crescent, and in others such as Brunton Place, Brunswick Street, Hillside Street (originally to be a longer street called Hopeton Street), and Wellington Street (also curtailed). However, due to piecemeal residential, industrial and transport developments immediately to the north, it would have been impossible to further follow Playfair's original layout, even if this had been considered desirable.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17567430

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.

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