Huntly House, 146 Canongate, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Edinburgh

Description

Predominantly late 16th century with later alterations and additions (see Notes). Outstanding grouping of 16th and 17th century dwellings, amalgamated to form single museum complex. Comprising 3-storey and attic, triple-gabled building, circa 1570 (No 146) fronting Canongate and 2-storey and attic, single-gabled 17th century building (No 142) with balcony at NE corner. Pair of 1648 tenements with gabled projections adjoin to S (Bakehouse Close) with segmental-arched pend leading to enclosed courtyard to rear. Predominantly harled and white washed rubble with ashlar dressings.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: PRINCIPAL (N) ELEVATION: No 146: exposed rubble to ground, ashlar to 1st floor, separated by deep, bracketed string course. Harled timber construction at upper levels; jettied at 2nd floor and triple-gabled attic. Series of Latin inscriptions at 1st floor (see Notes). Segmental-arched pend to far left. No 142 (to left): rises to 3-storey and attic towards rear. Wing section to Bakehouse Close: 3-storey with cat-slide dormers breaking eaves; square crowstepped stairtower to E; pair of advanced gableted bays to SW. Segmental-arched pend towards N leading to enclosed courtyard featuring moulded, octagonal shafted sundial to centre and extensive collection of architectural fragments. Rubble boundary wall to S. Granite setts.

INTERIOR: Wealth of moulded fireplaces and oak-panelled rooms including early 18th century panelled room with lugged architraves and cornices. Late 16th century painted beams taken from Pinkie House, Musselburgh.

Predominantly 12-pane glazing to timber sash and case windows. Grey Scottish Slate. Mix of harled and exposed rubble end and co-axial stacks. Crow-stepped skews to E elevation. Clay cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

Statement of Interest

Part of an 'A Group' comprising Canongate Parish Church; Canongate Tolbooth; 167-169 Canongate; 142-146 Canongate, Huntly House; 140 Canongate, Acheson House and the Canongate Burgh Cross which together form the historic core of the former Canongate Burgh (see separate listings).

Particularly fine survival comprising an amalgamation of predominantly 16th century dwellings. Its traditional form adds considerable interest to this area of the Canongate streetscape. The building is also notable for its outstanding interior including timber panelled rooms and moulded fireplaces, some of which have been salvaged from other Edinburgh town houses of the period, long since demolished.

Originally three early 16th century tenements with street-facing timber-framed gable ends, the dwellings were integrated by John Acheson in 1570 to provide a single, relatively spacious residence and. The name of the building is misleading as it was not constructed as a great town house and the name is probably derived from George, 1st Marquis of Huntly's brief stay there in 1636. The building was subsequently owned by the guild of the Incorporation of Hammermen from 1647 who employed Robert Mylne (then master mason to the Crown) to extend the front block. The buildings were acquired by the Local Authority in 1924 and restoration work (including the conversion to a museum) was undertaken by city architect, Frank C Mears in 1927-32. The pair of 3-storey tenements of 1648 to the S were incorporated into Huntley House Museum at this time. No 142 Canongate, which has a 17th century core, was restored by renowned Edinburgh architect Ian Gordon Lindsay in 1962-5 and incorporated into the complex. Five inscriptions in Latin adorn the exterior wall. There are four from the 16th century and one which was added when Huntly House was restored by Frank C Mears.

The historic and architectural value of Edinburgh's Canongate area as a whole cannot be overstated. Embodying a spirit of permanence while constantly evolving, its buildings reflect nearly 1000 years of political, religious and civic development in Scotland. The Canons of Holyrood Abbey were given leave by King David I to found the burgh of Canongate in 1140. Either side of the street (a volcanic ridge) was divided into long, narrow strips of land or 'tofts'. By the end of the 15th century all the tofts were occupied, some subdivided into 'forelands' and 'backlands' under different ownership. Fuedal superiority over Canongate ceased after 1560. The following century was a period of wide-scale rebuilding and it was during this time that most of the areas' mansions and fine townhouses were constructed, usually towards the back of the tofts, away from the squalor of the main street. The 17th century also saw the amalgamation of the narrow plots and their redevelopment as courtyards surrounded by tenements. The burgh was formally incorporated into the City in 1856. Throughout the 19th Century the Canongate's prosperity declined as large sections of the nobility and middle classes moved out of the area in favour of the grandeur and improved facilities of Edinburgh's New Town, a short distance to the North. The Improvement Act of 1867 made efforts to address this, responding early on with large-scale slum clearance and redevelopment of entire street frontages. A further Improvement Act (1893) was in part a reaction to this 'maximum intervention', responding with a programme of relatively small-scale changes within the existing street pattern. This latter approach was more consistent with Patrick Geddes' concept of 'conservative surgery'. Geddes was a renowned intellectual who lived in the Old Town and was a pioneer of the modern conservation movement in Scotland which gathered momentum throughout the 20th century. Extensive rebuilding and infilling of sections of the Canongate's many tenements took place, most notably by city architects, E J McRae and Robert Hurd (mid 20th century) with some early frontages retained and others rebuilt in replica.

Prior to resurvey (2007/08), Number 142 Canongate was listed separately. List description updated at resurvey (2007/08).

External Links

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