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Summary

Description

Early 19th century. 4-storey and basement, 15- and 8-bay block of Classical tenements forming W and part of N side of Hill Square with 4 bays to Hill Place. Squared and coursed, droved sandstone, chamfered rusticated ashlar to ground, rubble to rear. Stepped entrance platts oversailing basement. Band courses above basement and ground, cill course to 4th storey, cornice. Raised cills. Round-arched openings to ground at Hill Place. 6-panel timber entrance doors with rectangular fanlights above with margined glazing pattern.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows, some blind windows to Hill Place. Coped gable and ridge stacks. Grey slates.

INTERIOR: part seen (2007). Original floor plans to flats largely extant. Some simple cornicing. Alterations to ground floor at nos 3-10 to form offices. Linking corridor to Surgeon's Hall (see separate listing) from N elevation of Nos 6 and 7. 2nd storey of Nos 7 and 8 constitute museum rooms of Surgeon's Hall museum - one room with piers and coffered, coved ceiling (see Notes).

WALL AND RAILINGS: low coping at street elevation to E and S (Hill Square), surmounted with decorative iron railings with pineapple finials.

Statement of Special Interest

This is a particularly fine row of little externally altered, early Classical tenement buildings with good detailing, which form the West side and part of the North side of Hill Square. The uniform appearance of the tenements and coherence of design, especially in the entrance doors and glazing pattern is particularly notable. The Classical design of the buildings was a common feature in the expansion of Edinburgh in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and constitutes much of the important and distinctive character of residential property within the city.

This block was originally part of a unified scheme of tenement buildings around Hill Square with a central open garden. This block, No 12 Hill Square (see separate listing) and the garden survive. Squares were an important aspect of Classical town planning and they are a particular feature of the townscape throughout the 18th and 19th century development of Edinburgh.

The museum rooms in Nos 7 and 8 were created in 1908-9 as part of the expansion of Surgeon's Hall by the Edinburgh architect A F Balfour Paul.

Hill Place and Hill Square were created from land feued by James Hill in 1808.

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

References

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