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

University of Edinburgh, Moray House Reception, (Former Moray House Nursery School), St John Street, EdinburghLB29729

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
B
Date Added
28/03/1988
Last Date Amended
17/07/2015
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 26374 73678
Coordinates
326374, 673678

Description

Frank Wood, 1929-1932. Single-storey, rectangular-plan former purpose-built nursery school with sliding timber and glass doors and verandah to entire S wall (currently reception and archive centre). White painted harl. Brick base course, raised cills.

S elevation, returning to W elevation; full length verandah with canopy and timber railings. Sliding multi-pane glazed panels set in timber frames.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows and 6-pane top-hopper windows to N and E walls. Piended roofs with grey slates.

INTERIOR: (seen 2007). Altered, but with main rooms extant in plan. Timber flooring. Some original details, including low height coat peg nos.

Statement of Special Interest

This is a particularly interesting former nursery school which was built according to the Montessori principles of nursery education. The sliding panels and verandah to the South elevation are a notable feature of the design and the interior, although altered, still retains its two main large, light rooms and the former low height peg numbers. It also conforms to the contemporary ideals of providing plenty of light and air in educational buildings.

The Montessori principles of education are based on a child-centred approach, with each individual child learning at their own pace and with all associated furniture, toilets coat pegs etc., designed specifically for the children.

The Moray House nursery was planned by Annie MacKenzie, the then Infant Mistress in the Moray House Demonstration School and was based on research which had been carried out in Kindergarten architecture in Germany in the 1920s. The full length verandah to the South and part of the West elevation enabled there to be an easy transition from inside to outside.

The first Moray House Nursery School was opened in 1908 in a different part of Edinburgh. This building in St John's Street was erected after the previous structures on the site were demolished in 1929.

The school closed in 1988 and was converted into the reception centre and archive store for Moray House School of Education.

List description revised as part of the Edinburgh Holyrood Ward resurvey 2007-8.

Statutory address updated (2015). Previously listed as 'St John Street, Moray House Reception, (Former Moray House Nursery School)'.

References

Bibliography

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland: http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore.html CANMORE ID 194486

Information from leaflet from Moray House School of Education.

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.

Images

Southeast elevation, University of Edinburgh, Moray House Reception, (Former Moray House Nursery School), St John Street, Edinburgh
Southwest elevation, University of Edinburgh, Moray House Reception, (Former Moray House Nursery School), St John Street, Edinburgh

Printed: 19/03/2024 03:25