Description

James Gillespie Graham, designed 1822. 55-bay symmetrical classical palace block with five-part in-canted frontage, comprising four-storey and basement, 11-bay splayed three-part central pavilion flanked by pair of three-storey, attic and basement, 18-bay linking terraces, flanked in turn by pair of four-storey and basement four-bay terminal pavilions. Polished ashlar sandstone; V-jointed rustication to principal floor. Base course; band course between basement and first floor; cill course at first floor; cornice at second floor; string course at second floor of linking blocks; cornice and blocking course at third floor. Corniced frieze at impost level at central pavilion, and central pavilions of linking blocks. Ashlar steps and entrance platts oversailing basement.

SOUTHWEST (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION, CENTRAL PAVILION: advanced four-storey, attic and basement, 11-bay central pavilion, central 5 bays advanced again; engaged Doric columns flanking central five bays at first and second floors, Doric pilasters flanking remaining bays at first and second floors, panelled pilasters flanking bays at third floor. four-panel timber doors centred at principal floor and to outer left and right, door to left (No 10) with glazed upper panels and decorative iron grill; plate glass semicircular fanlights to Nos 9 and 10, decorative part-radial, part-umbrella semicircular fanlight to No 8; windows in round-arched recesses in remaining bays at principal floor; regular fenestration to floors above. Flagged basement area.

SOUTH LINKING TERRACES: 18-bay linking terraces (Nos 2-7), three-part in-canted polygonally arranged, three, nine, six. Central nine bays advanced as pavilion, with central three bays and outer bays advanced again, central three bays surmounted by blank pediment; engaged Doric columns flanking central three bays and outer bays at first and second floors. Four-panel timber door (No 4) in bay to right of centre at principal floor, with radial semicircular fanlight, four-panel timber doors (Nos 3 and 5) in bays to outer left and right at principal floor, with plate glass semicircular fanlights; windows in round-arched recesses in bays to left of centre at principal floor; regular fenestration in remaining bays at principal floor and to floors above, with blank central bay and infilled window in penultimate bay from right at third floor. Three-bay house to right of central pavilion (No 2), comprising four-panel timber door with plate glass rectangular fanlight in bay to left at principal floor. Windows in remaining bays at principal floor; regular fenestration to floors above. No 2 raised from three-storey to four-storey. Pair of three-bay houses (Nos 6 and 7) to left of central pavilion, comprising four-panel timber doors in bays to right at principal floor; door to right (No 6) with plate glass rectangular fanlight, door to left (No 7) with glazed upper panels and radial rectangular fanlight. Windows in remaining bays at principal floor; regular fenestration to floors above. First floor windows architraved with cornices removed, second floor windows architraved, at No 2; first floor windows architraved with cornices; second floor windows architraved at Nos 6 and 7. No 7 raised from three-storey to four-storey. Flagged basement area.

NORTH LINKING TERRACES: 18-bay linking terraces (Nos 11-16), splayed three-part in-canted bays arranged six, nine, three. Central nine bays advanced as pavilion, with centre three bays and outer bays advanced again, central three bays surmounted by blank pediment at third floor; engaged Doric columns flanking central three bays and outer bays at first and second floors. Four-panel timber door with plate glass semicircular fanlight (No 14) in bay to right of centre at principal floor; four-panel timber doors (Nos 13 and 15) in bays to outer left and right at principal floor, with plate glass semicircular fanlights; windows in round-arched recesses in bays at centre and left of centre; regular fenestration to remaining bays at principal floor, and to floors above, with blank central bay at third floor. Pair of three-bay houses to right (Nos 11 and 12) with four-panel timber doors in bays to left at principal floor, with plate glass rectangular fanlights; windows in remaining bays at principal floor; regular fenestration to floors above. Three-bay house to left of central pavilion (No 16), comprising four-panel timber door with plate glass rectangular fanlight in bay to right at principal floor; windows in remaining bays at principal floor, regular fenestration to floors above. First floor windows architraved with cornices, second floor windows architraved at Nos 11, 12 and 16. Flagged basement area.

SOUTH (NO 1) TERMINAL PAVILION: four-bay terminal pavilion; Doric pilasters flanking bays at first and second floors; panelled pilasters flanking bays at third floor. Four-panel timber door with radial semicircular fanlight, in bay to right of centre at principal floor; windows in round-arched recesses in remaining bays at principal floor; regular fenestration to floors above. Flagged basement area.

NORTH (NO 17) TERMINAL PAVILION: four-bay terminal pavilion; Doric pilasters flanking bays at first and second floors; panelled pilasters flanking bays at third floor. Four-panel timber door with decorative semicircular fanlight in bay to left of centre at principal floor; windows in round-arched recesses in remaining bays at principal floor; regular fenestration to floors above. Flagged basement area.

DARNAWAY STREET RETURN TO SOUTH TERMINAL PAVILION: five-bay, becoming 11 Darnaway Street (see separate listing).

DOUNE TERRACE RETURN TO NORTH TERMINAL PAVILION: five-bay, becoming 10 Doune Terrace. Doric pilasters flanking bays at first and second floors; panelled pilasters flanking bays at third floor. Four-panel timber door with blind radial semicircular fanlight, in penultimate bay from left at principal floor; windows in round-arched recesses in remaining bays at principal floor; regular fenestration to floors above, with blind windows in bay to outer left at first floor and floors above, in bays to outer right and penultimate bay from right, at first floor and above, and in penultimate bay from left at attic. Flagged basement area. Variety of plate glass timber sash and case windows. Grey slate M-roofs. Pair of lead-roofed rectangular dormers at No 6, pairs of lead-roofed rectangular dormers at Nos 11 and 12, pair of polygonal piended dormers at No 16. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Anthemion and palmette windows guards in bays at first floor at Nos 3-11 inclusively, 14, 16 and 17, and in central bay at No 2; decorative iron window guard spanning three bays at first floor of No 12, and spanning two bays at centre and right, at first floor of No 15. Variety of ridge and wallhead stacks, corniced and coped, with circular cans.

INTERIORS: not seen, 1998. Greek Doric theme to entrance halls of Nos 2-6, with Corinthianesque order to No 3. No 8 with circa 1900 Adamesque theme. Anthemion frieze to entrance hall of No 15. The panelling in the street-facing sitting room and bedroom (possibly also the dining room and hallway) of the top floor flat of No 5 Moray Place is understood to have been salvaged from the British ocean liner ship RMS Olympic (2026).

RAILINGS AND LAMPS: ashlar copes surmounted by cast-iron railings with fleur-de-lis and urn finials. Cast-iron railing-mounted lamps with glass globes.

MEWS: 1-7 (INCLUSIVE NOS) GLOUCESTER SQUARE: earlier 19th century. L-plan row of seven single storey and attic, three-bay mews buildings. Coursed rubble, with droved and polished ashlar dressings. Long and short quoins.

NORTHEAST (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: row of five mews buildings, with No 7 recessed. Irregular arrangement of vertically boarded timber doors; part-glazed with three-pane rectangular fanlight at No 3, with plate glass rectangular fanlight at No 4, six-panel with blind rectangular fanlight at No 5, three-pane rectangular fanlight at No 7. Variety of pairs of windows breaking eaves at attics, rectangular dormerheads at Nos 3, 4 and 7, gabletted dormers at Nos 5. Variety of vertically-boarded timber garage doors, including two-leaf and multi-leaf folding doors, and sliding doors, some with glazed upper panels; with timber and stone lintels. Part-glazed modern timber garage door infill to No 5. Later coped brick wall adjoining Nos 3 and 2, at left, with single six-pane window and brick-infilled segmental-arched pedestrian gate.

WEST ELEVATION: No 1 with pair of modern garage doors at ground floor, three irregularly spaced windows at attic, skylight to left of centre. No 2 with vertically-boarded modern garage door to left and 12-pane timber sash and case window to right, at ground floor; pair of piended dormerheads breaking eaves at attic.

NORTH ELEVATION: blank gable.

EAST (GLOUCESTER LANE) ELEVATION: rear elevations of Nos 1 and 2; predominantly blank to No 1, with window centred at ground floor; modern timber door with three-pane rectangular fanlight to left of centre to No 2, flanked by recessed modern vertically-boarded garage door, with modern lintel, to left, pair of windows to right; pair of windows at attic flanked by pair of piended dormerheads breaking eaves; single storey modern garage to outer left.

5-10A (INCLUSIVE NOS) GLOUCESTER LANE: earlier 19th century. Row of seven single storey and attic, predominantly three-bay mews buildings, stepped down to north. Coursed rubble, with droved and polished ashlar dressings. Long and short quoins.

EAST (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: irregular arrangement of variety of garage doors, including two-leaf vertically-boarded timber garage doors in segmental-arched opening at No 6, vertically-boarded folding timber garage doors with glazed upper panels at Nos 6 and 9; irregular arrangement of predominantly modern timber doors with plate glass rectangular fanlights; irregular fenestration, including bipartite rectangular dormerheads breaking eaves at Nos 6 and 7. Later single storey rendered garage to outer right.

SOUTH ELEVATION: blank gable.

NORTH ELEVATION: adjoining Gloucester Square mews buildings, see above.

WEST (REAR) ELEVATION: not seen, 1998. Predominantly timber sash and case windows. Grey slate roofs. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Variety of stacks; coped, with circular cans. Coped skews.

Statement of 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. The Moray Estate was designed for the 10th Earl of Moray (1771-1848). He inherited the 13 acre site from his father, after it was acquired from the Heriot Trust in 1782, and decided to feu the property for development in 1822. The complicated plan, with the crescent, oval and polygonal of Randolph Crescent, Ainslie Place and Moray Place respectively, conjoins the New Town with the Second New Town. Building was completed in 1830-31.

Lord Jeffrey's last house was at No 24; Thomas Carlyle lived at the same address later.

External Links

• Wikidata Q17576003

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Recommended Books

• 
  For the Record
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)