Description

Edward Calvert, 1895. 4-storey U-plan Baronial tenement, shops at ground (Slateford Road only), punctuated by canted and oriel windows, ogee-roofed oriel towers at corners. 2nd floor cills on decorative brackets with carved detail. At roofline canted windows corbelled to square in gableheads with sawtooth coping, some with cloverleaf finials. Decorated skyline. Squared and snecked cream sandstone with polished ashlar dressings, stop-chamfered arrises, tabbed and raised margins. Cornice above original 2- and 3-bay shopfronts separated by panelled pilasters. Deep-set doors to common stairs with 3-pane fanlights. Band course above, and cornice to 2nd floor.

NW (SLATEFORD ROAD) ELEVATION: 18 bays from left to right; 4 varied tenements each stepping up slightly and with fenestration to each bay and each floor. Corners marked by octagonal oriel towers corbelled out from chamfered ground floor entrance, with ogee roof, fish-scale tiles and lead ball finial. 1st tenement of 5 bays; 1st bay with broken pedimented dormerhead with pedestal supporting crescent moon, 5th bay with bipartite windows and broken pedimented dormerhead at eaves with pedestal supporting finial; 2nd with pedimented dormerhead at 3rd floor; 3rd with dragon above appearing to support stack to its right; 4th orielled. 2nd and 3rd tenements of 4 bays, outer bays orielled, central pair flanking wallhead stack and under crowstepped half- gablehead stack. 4th tenement of 5 bays; 1st bay with bipartite windows and pedimented dormerhead at 3rd floor; 2nd orielled; 3rd below half crowstepped gablehead with stack at right; 4th with bipartite windows and crowstepped dormerhead supporting crescent moon at 3rd floor; 5th with broken pediment at eaves; then wallhead stack supported by scrolled console to left.

NE (MERCHISTON GROVE) ELEVATION: from right to left; 2 distinct blocks joined by single storey 3 bay link; link with chamfered arrises, cornice and band course. 1st block of 2 bays, 1st bay with scrolled console at eaves supporting stack to right; date plaque 1895 in square frame below stack with central shield bearing initials WO; 2nd bay with broken pedimented dormerhead and pedestal supporting finial. 2nd block symmetrical 4-bay residential tenement, flanked by full-height canted windows as above; at ground central door with long and short margins and 9-pane fanlight pushing windows aside; central bays with eagles at eaves level flanking stack. Open side elevations above single storey link, with single window at each floor. SW (SHANDON PLACE) ELEVATION: 3-bay return. Central bay with bipartite windows and pedimented dormerhead, bay to left with scrolled console at eaves flanking stack to right, bay to right with broken pedimented dormerhead; 2 shop windows below 1st bay. Residential 5-bay tenement block stepped-up and recessed, with low wall and railings in front; full-height canted outer bays corbelled to square as before but with Dutch gableheads, bay to left of centre with broken pedimented dormerhead, bay to right of centre with bipartite windows and Dutch gable dormerhead; at ground doors as before between outer bays giving access to front door flats; central bay with closely grouped windows, windows to right larger and each with separate dressings, whole bay below crowstepped pediment terminating at stack to right; at ground, door to tenement stair replaces left window. Some original timber sash and case windows survive but many modern replacements; stacks to front with long and short ashlar quoins and cornice, simple coping course to stacks of return elevations; moulded skewputts, grey slates. Black cast-iron drainpipes with moulded gutters.

Interior not seen 1992.

Statement of Interest

Built for William Oliver, who had lived in and owned Merchiston Grove, which with its gardens was cleared to make way for this tenement and the adjoining developments to the SE.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q56630989

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)