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Summary

Description

James Adam, 1793. 3-storey and basement, 3-bay asymmetrical castellated terraced house, built as manse for adjoining St George's Chapel. Polished ashlar sandstone; squared and snecked rubble at basement. Base course; band courses between basement and principal floor, and between principal and 1st floors; cill courses at 1st and 2nd floors. Crenellated parapet with corbels. Projecting cills to principal floor windows; reeded aprons to 1st floor windows. Ashlar steps and entrance platt oversailing basement.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: advanced outer bays, round-arched recess at 1st and 2nd floors of centre bay. Advanced doorpiece in bay to right at principal floor, comprising Gothick clustered-shaft engaged columns flanking door, supporting corniced lintel; panelled timber door with decorative radial fanlight. Windows in remaining bays at principal floor, window in bay to left with hoodmould; regular fenestration to floors above, comprising architraved window with hoodmould centred at 1st floor, flanked by windows in round-arched recesses; window centred at 2nd floor flanked by blind cruciform arrowslits. Wallhead panel with 3 blind arrowslits centred at parapet. Irregular fenestration to basement. Flagged basement area.

W ELEVATION: random rubble gable, with adjoining building at principal and 1st floors, see separate listing (5B York Place).

E ELEVATION: adjoining building, see separate listing (9-13 York Place).

S (REAR) ELEVATION: not seen, 1998.

Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Grey slate roof, piended at centre. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered gablehead stack; coped, with circular cans.

INTERIORS: not seen, 1998. Probably by Alexander Laing.

RAILINGS: ashlar copes surmounted by cast-iron railings with spear-headed and urn finials.

Statement of Special Interest

Part of the Edinburgh New Town A Group, one of the most important and best preserved examples of urban planning in Britain. Feuing in York Place began in 1793, after Lord Alva sold land to the north east of St Andrew Square to the city.

No 7 York Place was built as the manse for the Reverend Alexander Cleeve of St George's. It was sold to the architect Alexander Laing in 1795. James Adam's only castle style town house, it is very similar to such as Dalquharran Castle in Ayrshire (1790), built by his father Robert Adam, especially with the round-arched window recesses and corbelled parapets that exemplified the latter's castle style.

References

Bibliography

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