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Summary

Description

James Begg, circa 1791. Classical, near-symmetrical, 4-storey, basement and attic tenement range. Slightly advanced 5-storey, 5-bay pavilion to centre: pedimented outer bays with lunettes to 4th floor and corniced raised panels between 3rd and 4th floors; decorative iron balconettes to 1st floor. Single advanced bowed bays to outer left and right of range: tripartite windows with recessed aprons to ground floor; Venetian windows to 1st and 2nd floors, separated by dividing band and set in 2-storey over-arch. Droved V-jointed rustication to ground floor, droved ashlar to basement, upper floors and all storeys to NE elevation (coursed squared rubble with droved margins and quoins to rear and NE elevation basement). Dividing band between lower and upper basements; dividing band between ground and 1st floor; cill band to 1st floor; dividing band between all upper floors (excluding single advanced bays and NE (side) elevation); eaves cornice. Predominantly regular fenestration.

SE (GAYFIELD PLACE) ELEVATION: 15-bay elevation; additional basement storey to right of central pavilion. To 5th bay from left, timber-panelled door and umbrella glazed fanlight in round-arched opening with keystone ornamented by carved bearded head; to 8th bay from left, timber-panelled door and 4-light rectangular fanlight in architraved doorpiece with consoled and dentilled cornice; to 13th bay from left, timber-panelled door with rectangular fanlight; to 14th bay from left, timber-panelled door and umbrella glazed fanlight with pilastered doorpiece in round-arched opening; platts overarching basement recess to each doorway. Narrow slit windows to 2nd bay to left. To roof; curved tripartite dormers to 3rd and 5th bays from left, flat-roofed dormers to 11th and 14th bay from left.

SW (GAYFIELD SQUARE) ELEVATION: 5-bay elevation. Timber-panelled door with letterbox fanlight to central bay, with steps and platt overarching basement. Sunk panels to corners to 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. 3 flat-roofed dormers to roof.

NE (GAYFIELD PLACE LANE) ELEVATION: 4-bay elevation. Timber-panelled door and umbrella glazed fanlight with pilastered doorpiece in round-arched opening.

NW (REAR) ELEVATION: bowed projection with tripartite windows to outer left; bowed 3-bay projection to centre. Flat-roofed dormer to roof to right.

GLAZING etc: predominantly 12-pane glazing; 9-pane glazing to upper sashes and 6-pane glazing to lower sashes to central lights of Venetian windows and some windows to rear; 4-pane glazing to flanking lights of Venetian and tripartite windows; 6-pane glazing to 4th floor of central pavilion; all glazing in timber sash and case windows. Timber fascias, grey slate haffits and roofs to all dormer windows; rooflight to roof of right recessed section. Pitched and piended roof; grey slate; stone skews and skewputts. 1 ridge stack to right; 2 gablehead stacks, to left and right of central pavilion; 1 ridge stack to left, with round-headed arch to centre with raised keystone and impost band; 2 wallhead stacks to rear; all stacks corniced, droved ashlar (hammer-dressed with droved dressings to rear stacks); circular cans to all stacks.

Statement of Special Interest

One of the first buildings still existing to be constructed on the Gayfield estate, 1-5 Gayfield Place is a very early example of the use in Edinburgh of the palace-front to unify terrace design. It is further distinguished by the meticulous and unusual detailing employed by Begg. This includes the use of droved stone for rustication and the shafts of the Venetian windows, the arched stack detail, sunk panelling to the mullions and cills of the ground floor tripartite windows, and the pedimented bays to the central pavilion. The construction of the arches of the Venetian windows is also unusual, as they are made of only 3 stones, although these are tooled to create the impression of conventional construction. The building is the only known extant example of the work of James Begg.

1-5 Gayfield Place 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, with Begg's building to the NE and villas to the SW. These developments began to establish the form Gayfield Square, which forms the heart of the estate. It was part of Jollie's plan from the beginning that this should be so; in January 1783 he advertised that the Gayfield grounds were to be feued for building purposes 'according to a plan.? His advertisment promised prospective feuars 'remarkably pleasant' rustic situation and 'uncommonly beautiful views' in addition to 'the privilege of the area of the square'. Sasines record that '..the area of Gayfield Place [is] to remain an open space for all time coming.'

One of the first apartments in Begg's buildings was feued by the spring of 1792. However, despite a swift start, the building was not completed for many years. Ainslie's map shows the NE corner unfinished in 1804, and Begg was still disposing of apartments as late as 1808.

References

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