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Summary

Description

Thomas Bonnar, 1806. Classical tenement with projecting 3-bay canted polygonal section to corner of Union Street and Antigua Street. 6-bay Union Street elevation; 8-bay Antigua Street elevation; 3 stories, attic and basement (no basement to canted corner or 1st to 3rd bays from left to Antigua Street elevation). Polished ashlar to ground floor (painted smooth V-jointed rustication to 4th to 8th bays from left to Antigua Street elevation); painted broached ashlar to basement; droved ashlar to upper floors. Dividing band between basement and ground floor; dividing band between ground and 1st floor; cill course to 1st floor; main cornice between 2nd and attic floor; modillioned eaves cornice; blocking course. Predominantly regular fenestration.

SW (UNION STREET) ELEVATION: 7-bays to ground floor; to 2nd and 4th bay from left, platts overarching basement recess, leading to doorways with modern 2-leaf timber and glazed doors and letterbox fanlights with half-wheel glazing pattern. To all upper floors, blind windows to 4th and 6th bay from left.

SE (CORNER) ELEVATION: to centre bay, 2-leaf timber panelled door with letterbox fanlight with half-wheel glazing pattern.

E (ANTIGUA STREET) ELEVATION: to ground floor: modern shopfront with central glazed door to 1st and 2nd bays from left; to 3rd bay, timber panelled door with multi-pane glazed fanlight; to 6th bay, steps and platt overarching basement recess leading to timber-panelled door with half-wheel design letterbox fanlight. To basement, modern 2-leaf timber and glazed doors to 5th and 8th bays. To 2nd floor, blind window to 2nd bay. To 4th to 8th bays to attic floor, continuous cast iron balconnette.

NW (REAR) ELEVATION: 2-bay elevation with 2 single bay canted sections to right.

GLAZING etc: predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows; 8-pane glazing with narrow margin lights in fixed timber frames to ground floor to Union Street and corner elevation, and to basement to Antigua Street; plate glass glazing to Antigua Street shopfront. Pitched roof (piended to canted section); grey slate; stone skews and skewputts. To Union Street elevation, 1 mutual ridge stack to far left, 1 ridge stack to centre; to Antigua Street elevation, 1 ridge stack to left, 1 ridge stack to centre, 1 gablehead stack to right; to rear elevation, 1 wallhead stack to centre; all stacks corniced droved ashlar (squared rubble with droved dressings to wallhead stack) with circular cans.

RAILINGS: to Union Street elevation, spear-head and urn finialled cast iron railings, predominantly set in ashlar copes, edging basement recess and platts; 2 cast iron balconettes beneath windows to right; to Antigua Street elevation, edging basement recess, steps and platt, stone copes (edging basement only) surmounted by spear-head and urn finialled cast iron railings.

Statement of Special Interest

This classically detailed tenement block is a good example of early 19th century high quality tenement design in Edinburgh. It also has streetscape and historical value as an element of the Gayfield estate development. It may also have significance as one of the few extant buildings designed by Cairncross, formerly a pupil or assistant of Robert Adam, for whom he was clerk of works at several prestigious projects, including Culzean Castle and Old College, Edinburgh University. Cairncross is not specifically mentioned in contemporary documents in connection with Union Street. However, there is a very strong similarity of design between the tenements on the north side of Union Street and south end of Antigua Street, and the tenements on the NE side of Gayfield Square, which were designed for Jollie by Cairncross in 1807.

5 Union Street (see separate List description), adjoining this building, was built by John Aitchison, who also built the remainder of the tenements on the north side of Union Street. The design of 5 Union Street is consistent with that of the terminating 5 bays of Bonnar's Antigua Street elevation, and it is highly possible that the two developers collaborated to produce a coherent design scheme for both feus. Their almost simultaneous applications to the Dean of Guild support this.

1-3 Union Street and 1-6 Antigua Street forms part of the Gayfield Estate, so called because it stands on the former grounds of Gayfield House (East London Street; 1763-5, still extant; separately listed Category A). These lands were feued by the solicitor James Jollie from 1785. Building began on either side of the drive to the house; the building line on the SW of Gayfield Square follows the line of the drive. These developments began to establish the form of Gayfield Square, which forms the heart of the estate. The gardens at the core of the square were preserved from development as early as the 1790s; Sasines record that '..the area of Gayfield Place [is] to remain an open space for all time coming.' Union Street is on the boundary of these lands, the north side being Gayfield land, and the south side of the street built on land at the edge of the adjoining Picardy estate.

In 1999-2000, 1-3 Union Street and 1-6 Antigua Street was awarded a grant from Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, enabling the building to undergo a comprehensive scheme of repairs.

References

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