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

4, 6, 8, 10 WALKER STREETLB29881

Status: Designated

Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Category
A
Date Added
14/12/1970
Supplementary Information Updated
31/12/2018
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 24346 73520
Coordinates
324346, 673520

Description

Robert Brown, 1822-24. 12-bay terrace comprising unified façade of 2- and 3-storey attic and basement, 3-bay classical townhouses with main-door and common stair flats behind; various later additions to attic. Slightly advanced corner block to N with return to William Street. Basement area to street including some vaulted cellars and retaining walls. Sandstone ashlar; droved ashlar to basement channelled ashlar to ground floor. Entrance platts oversailing basements. Banded base course; banded cill course at 1st floor with string course between windows. Corniced eaves course; stepped parapet at corner. Timber 6-panel doors. Plain doorpieces with rectangular fanlight above, radial glazing to No. 4. Architraved corniced and bracketed openings to centre at N corner block. Cast-iron balconies on scrolled brackets to first floor windows. Later box dormer to no. 4.

N (WILLIAM STREET) ELEVATION: 3 storeys, 3 bays, squared coursed rubble with long and short ashlar quoins (stone cills and lintels). Single window to centre at ground, 1st and 2nd floors.

E (REAR) ELEVATION: 4-storey. Regular coursed rubble with some long and short ashlar quoins. Advanced and recessed wall plane with some later additions. Ashlar rybats, lintels and sills to irregular fenestration, some with relieving arches.

Predominantly plate glass in timber sash and case, with some 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Double pitch M-section roof. Wallhead stacks in corniced ashlar, modern clay cans. Cast-iron railings above ashlar coping stone edging basement recess to street; spear headed finials. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

Statement of Special Interest

The townhouses are an important surviving component of the original design for the Walker Estate by Robert Brown. Walker Street forms a key part of a fine classical grouping, tying together key residential components of the plan linking Melville Crescent (see separate listing) with Coates Crescent (see separate listing) in addition to linking two important public spaces marked with significant public works of art, with the Gladstone Memorial in Coates crescent (see separate listing) and Melville Memorial in Melville Crescent (see separate listing). The terrace demonstrates a well-detailed architectural treatment and is a good example of the late Georgian style in which the Walker Estate was designed.

Walker Street was at the centre of land owned by Patrick Walker, which was developed to a plan drawn up by Robert Brown in 1813. Walker Street is a main axis through the development, and takes its name from Sir Patrick.

Robert Brown was an experienced architect, and by the time he was involved with the deigns for the Walker Estate he had already designed several other urban schemes, including between 1810 and 1830 laying out streets in Portobello on land belonging to the Marques of Abercorn. His other notable works include Newington and St. Leonard's church (now The Queen's Hall) and the rearrangement of the interiors for Yester House on behalf of the Marques of Tweeddale. Robert Brown worked on a number of smaller projects in the New Town but the cohesive planning of the Walker estate is amongst one of the best examples of his work. He was especially competent in the design of corner pavilions and parades of shops, as can be seen in his work at North West Circus Place (see separate listing).

(List description revised in 2009 as part of re-survey.)

References

Bibliography

Ordnance Survey, Large Scale Town Plan, (1849-53); J Gifford, C McWilliam, D M Walker, The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh (1988) p. 381; Youngson, The Making of Classical Edinburgh, (1988) p.215.

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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Printed: 29/03/2024 14:48