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Latitude: 56.0585 / 56°3'30"N
Longitude: -3.2339 / 3°14'2"W
OS Eastings: 323255
OS Northings: 685756
OS Grid: NT232857
Mapcode National: GBR 26.QCDN
Mapcode Global: WH6S0.9Z8C
Plus Code: 9C8R3Q58+9C
Entry Name: Mary Somerville's House, 31-32 Somerville Square, Burntisland
Listing Name: 30-33 (Inclusive Nos) Somerville Square
Listing Date: 24 November 1972
Category: B
Source: Historic Scotland
Source ID: 358565
Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB22880
Building Class: Cultural
Also known as: Burntisland, 31-32 Somerville Square, Mary Somerville's House
ID on this website: 200358565
Location: Burntisland
County: Fife
Town: Burntisland
Electoral Ward: Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy
Traditional County: Fife
Tagged with: Tenement
17th century with later alterations, notably at rear. 3-storey tenement with dominant stack to street, in irregular terrace to W. Harled with painted margins.
N (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: widely spaced bays, much blank wallplane; panelled timber door below commemorative plaque in advanced chimney breast rising as substantial shouldered stack at wallhead: panelled timber doors to right and to left (latter altered from window opening), regular fenestration in bay above that to left, and off-line above that to right (2nd floor opening enlarged); small 2nd floor window (later addition) in jettied wallplane to left of stack and windows in outer right bay at 1st and 2nd floor.
S ELEVATION: flight of stairs lead to part-glazed door (modern alteration) with adjacent light to left at 1st
floor, 5 windows to right at ground, 6 windows to right at 1st and 2nd floors, further window to left at 2nd floor.
E ELEVATION: windows to outer right at 2nd floor.
12-pane glazing pattern in timber sash and case windows throughout. Grey slates. Ashlar coped skews, crowsteps and thackstanes, coped ashlar stacks with cans.
Somerville Square and Street were renamed after Mary Somerville (1780-1872), daughter of Vice Admiral Sir William Fairfax. Mary, who lived here as a child, was a self-taught mathematician, astrologer and author; Somerville College, Oxford is named in her honour. The commemorative plaque mentioned above records these details.
During restoration in 1958 a painted ceiling was discovered and removed to National Library.
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
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