Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

HOLYROODHOUSE, 28 AND 30 CROFT-AN-RIGH (CROFT AND RIGH HOUSE) INCLUDING BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATESLB28029

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Group Category Details
100000019 - See Notes
Date Added
14/12/1970
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 26959 74076
Coordinates
326959, 674076

Description

16th century, reconstructed later 17th century (see Notes). Fine, 2-storey and attic, L-plan, Scots Renaissance mansion house with 3 corbelled-out circular turrets at S-facing angles and fine interior plasterwork. Rubble with raised ashlar margins. N ELEVATION: Door 2nd bay from left with later window insertions to four-bays above; 3 pedimented wall-head dormers break eaves. Further dormers to S and W facing elevations of re-entrant angle. Forestair and railing to central doorway at E elevation; irregular fenestration, returning to turret at NE corner with small window; turrets with small single windows and ball-and-spike finialled conical roofs.

INTERIOR: stone stair to centre of building rising through all floors. 2 rooms on first floor with elaborate Jacobethan plaster ceilings. Some rooms with roll-moulded fireplaces.

Grey, graded Scottish slate, Tall and broad end stacks. Variety of clay cans. Cast iron rainwater goods.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND GATES: rubble built, flanking E elevation at right-angles, higher to the left with doorway leading to walled courtyard to S of house. Fine strapwork carving above gate opposite the E elevation, bearing inscription 'Croft-an-righ Cottage' on lintel. Sections of boundary wall adjoining SW angle to palace wall with round-arched opening (now blocked). Wall to S and W part of the boundary of the Palace of Holyroodhouse (see separate listing). Flight of steps rising steeply from S courtyard into palace grounds.

Statement of Special Interest

The ground beneath the Palace of Holyroodhouse and nearby structures (including Croft-an-Righ House, the buildings on the N side of Abbey Strand and the buildings around Mews Court) is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 for its archaeological importance. The upstanding remains of Holyrood Abbey and Queen Mary's Bath are also scheduled monuments. Significant upstanding and below-ground archaeological remains may survive as part of and in addition to the structures and features described above.

Croft An Righ is an outstanding example and rare survival of a traditional 17th century mansion house containing earlier 16th century fabric. Its clasping angle turrets flanking the broad chimneystack of the gable of the SE jamb add interest and character, as does the forestair descending from first floor to street. Situated in a secluded location towards to NW corner of the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the building retains much of its original context and setting adding significantly to its streetscape value. The building is also notable for its particularly fine plasterwork ceiling featuring cornucopia motifs which the ceiling of the throne room in the Palace of Holyroodhouse was based. One motif is also used extensively on the elaborate plaster ceiling at Moray House on Edinburgh's Canongate (see separate listings).

Croft an Righ (or 'King's Field') House is considered to have once belonged to Lord Elphinstone and later to William Graham, Earl of Airth. An earlier house on the site belonged to the Regent Moray and some of this structure may also exist within the fabric of the building. Gordon of Rothiemay's map of 1647 shows the house in T-plan form. It was rebuilt in its current L-plan footprint during the late 17th century following a fire around 1680 and further alterations were made during the 1870s when the turrets were extended and capped and a 2-storey outshot to the S with forestair was removed. The house was reconditioned by H M Office of Works in the 1950s and subdivided to house gardeners at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The building is currently (2007) used as offices by Historic Scotland.

Part of A-group comprising: Palace of Holyroodhouse; 28 and 30 Croft-An-Righ (Croft-An-Righ House); Abbey Strand Eastern Building; Abbey Strand Western Building; Queen Mary's Bath House; North Garden Sundial; Palace Forecourt Fountain; Abbey Court House; Gatehouse and Former Guard Rooms; Palace Coach House; Stables; Queen's Gallery (see separate listings).

List description revised as part of the Edinburgh Holyrood Ward resurvey (2007/08). List description updated 2013.

References

Bibliography

Gordon of Rothiemay's Map (1647). The Royal Commission on the Ancient Monuments of Scotland, An inventory of the ancient and historical monuments of the city of Edinburgh with the thirteenth report of the Commission, Edinburgh, Inventory No 88 (1951). John Gifford et al, Buildings of Scotland - Edinburgh, (1991) p147. Charles McKean, Edinburgh - An Illustrated Architectural Guide (1992) p43. References from previous list description: Inv. 88; MacRae - Royal Mile Report 58. C & D Arch IV p434.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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