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

53-63 (ODD NOS) CANONGATE, WHITEFOORD HOUSE AND CALLANDER HOUSE (SCOTTISH VETERAN'S RESIDENCE) INCLUDING HALL, LODGES AT 142 AND 144 CALTON ROAD, TENEMENTS AT 57, 59 & 61 CANONGATE, BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS AND GATESLB28428

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
B
Date Added
17/05/1999
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 26628 73927
Coordinates
326628, 673927

Description

Whitefoord House by Robert Mylne, 1769-1770. Callander House circa 1770. Irregular-plan ajoined complex set back from the Canongate, comprising Whiteford House at centre, Callander House to left with later single storey hall (1927), and to right, the later Kenneth Hill House (1981). Pair of 2-storey lodges flanking arched gateway to NW and 3, 4-storey tenements fronting Canongate. Predominantly harled rubble with painted dressings.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: WHITEFOORD HOUSE: symmetrical, Classical 3-storey with basement, 5-bay, rectangular-plan house with Roman Doric pedimented porch to front. Raised (cement) quoins. 2-leaf timber panelled door, architraved surround with consoled and dentiled cornice. 4-bay to rear with remnants of corniced, consoled surround. Fine cast-iron and wrought-iron internal stair. CALLANDER HOUSE: 3-storey with basement and attic, originally rectangular-plan. Raised quoins. Regular fenestration; gabled dormer to centre. Consoled doorpiece to rear. 20th century 2-storey projection to outer left and single storey addition linking rectangular-plan hall with 2-leaf, part-glazed timber door to S elevation, decorative segmental-arched surround and stylised gablehead.

NO 142 AND 144 CALTON ROAD: 2 rectangular-plan lodges with later additions, joined by segmental arch. Whitewashed harl; painted dressings. 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Pyramidal roof with coped and harled wallhead stack to No 144.

NO 57-61 (ODD NOS) CANONGATE: Block comprising early 19th century, 4-storey tenement to left and 18th century house with attic to right. Whitewashed harl, painted dressings, painted render to ground. SE (Principal) ELEVATION: former shop front at ground right; regular fenestration at all floors above. Square-headed pend 'Forsyth's Close' to ground floor centre. Coped skews. First floor room understood to contain dado, key-pattern frieze and semi-domed Rococo plaster-work cupboard.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows with horns; various rooflights. Grey slate roofs. Predominantly coped and harled ridge and apex stacks; circular clay cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS AND GATES: Rubble walls partially enclosing site to Canongate with iron railings. Whitewashed, rectangular gatepiers flanking entrance to No 53 'Younger Gate' and coped ashlar gatepiers flanking entrance to No 63 'McEwan Gate', both. Coped, harled walls to Calton Road; pedestrian opening to left. iron gates. Iron gates. Landscaped gardens with curving bi-furcated steps, sundial and drinking fountain.

Statement of Special Interest

Whitefoord House and Callander House are good surviving examples of later 18th century townhouses that have been latterly adapted for alternate use. The Roman Doric porch at Whitefoord is of particular note. Edinburgh has a rich heritage of early townhouses adding much to the architectural character of the city. Although virtually contemporary and now internally linked, Whitefoord and Callander Houses were originally separate properties. The former built on the site of the Earl of Winton's mansion, was built by renowned Scottish architect and master-mason to the Crown, Robert Mylne and commissioned by Sir John Whitefoord of Blairgunan and Ballochmyle. Callander House was built for Sir John Callander of Craigforth. At that time, the Canongate was regarded as one of Edinburgh's prime residential locations for the town houses of the nobility and gentry, with Moray House and Queensberry House (directly opposite Whiteford) reflecting the status of their wealthy owners. Set back from the Canongate, Whitefoord reflects these social aspirations. It was subsequently home to the noted judge Sir William MacLeod Bannatyne (1743 - 1833) who died in the house at the age of 90. Around 1850 Whitefoord House was gutted and converted for use as a type-foundry. In 1910, Whitefoord and Callander were linked and adapted as a residential home for ex-Army, Navy and Air Force personnel run by the Scottish Veterans Housing Association. The first 'Lady Haig Poppy Factory' was established at Whitefoord House in 1926, by the wife of Field Marshal Douglas Haig (1861 - 1928), with residents making poppies to raise money to support fellow ex-servicemen.

List description revised as part of Edinburgh Holyrood Ward resurvey, 2007/08.

References

Bibliography

Mylne Diary, September 18th 1769 (reference from earlier list description). Ordnance Survey map, 1854 (Whitefoord House marked as 'type-foundry'). J Grant, Old And New Edinburgh (1883) Vol 2, p34-35. J Gifford, C McWilliam, D Walker, The Buildings Of Scotland- Edinburgh (1984) p216.

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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