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Summary

Description

James Haldane, earlier to mid 19th century. 3-storey with basement plain classical pavilions, 4 bays at W (adjoining West Maitland Street), 7 bays at E (adjoining Torphichen Place), flank 2-storey, 6-bay classical block with basement and attic. Droved sandstone ashlar to basement, V-jointed polished sandstone ashlar rustication to ground floor, polished sandstone ashlar to upper floors, including dressings. Base course; band course between principal and 1st floors; anta pilasters to 1st and 2nd floor end pavilions; corniced architraves and ornamental ironwork balconies to 1st floor windows, central block; string course; cornice; blocking course (raised at centre to end blocks). Windows recessed in round-arched openings to ground floor of end blocks, box dormers to central block. Ashlar steps and entrance platts oversailing basement.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION:

W block (2 Torphichen Street): 4-bay; entrance door to No 2A beneath oversailing platt at bay to left of centre; windows to remaining bays at basement; 4-panel timber door with round-arched fanlight to bay to left of centre at ground floor; windows to remaining bays at ground floor and to all bays upper floors; ornamental ironwork window-guards to 2nd floor windows.

Central block (4 and 6 Torphichen Street): 6-bay; oversailing to No 6 infilled with door to return at basement; timber door to penultimate bay to left at basement; window to 3rd bay from left; blank wall beneath oversailing to No 4; timber door with rectangular fanlight at penultimate bay to right; window to bay to outer right; 4-panel timber door with rectangular fanlight to outer left and third from right bays at ground floor; windows to remaining bays at ground floor and to all bays upper floor; 2 pairs of corniced tripartite box dormers above.

E block (12 Torphichen Street): replacement timber door with boarded fanlight to third bay from left at basement; part-glazed timber door with rectangular fanlight and small light flanking on left to third bay from right; windows to remaining bays at basement; portico with dentilled broken pediment supported by polished granite columns, Ionic pilasters behind, to centre of ground floor; architectonic panelled timber and glass door with fanlight; windows to flanking bays at ground floor and to all bays upper floors.

W ELEVATION: obscured by adjoining building.

S ELEVATION: not seen 2000.

2-pane sash and case windows, small-pane dormers. Grey slate roof; coped skews. Ridge and gablehead coped rendered stacks with moulded cylindrical cans.

INTERIORS: not seen 2000.

RAILINGS: spear-head and fleur-de-lys railings to street and entrance platts, with acorn-headed finials to entrances to basement.

Statement of Special Interest

Part of the Edinburgh New Town A-Group, a significant surviving part of one of the most important and best preserved examples of urban planning in Britain. A continuation of James Haldane's Morrison development, this classically detailed sequence, characterised by rustication and giant anta pilasters, maintains the architectural grandeur of the principal western approach to the city. The absence of uniformity may be attributable to the hand of different architects, or to modifications to Haldane's original specifications. Both of these hypotheses are supported by the delay in construction to which the fact that only Nos 4-6 appear on the 1853 OS map points.

References

Bibliography

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