Description

John Starforth, 1859. 3-storey, U-plan range of workers' housing with balconies and enclosed stairtowers. Painted brick. Open galleries to 1st and 2nd floors of principal range; cast-iron brackets and spear-headed railings; 3 enclosed stairtowers; round-arched openings with long and short surrounds to stairtowers; segmental-arched windows; boarded doors.

NW ELEVATION OF S (PRINCIPAL) range: 9-bay. Swept piended roof to stairtower at centre. Paired doorways to each floor in 2nd and 8th bays; single windows in remaining bays.

E ELEVATION OF W RANGE: 5-bay. Piend-roofed stairtower in 4th bay. Paired doorways to each floor in 1st bay; single windows in remaining bays.

W ELEVATION OF E RANGE: mirror image of E elevation of W range. Variety of glazing patterns in sash and case windows (probably small-pane originally). Grey slate roof; coped brick ridge and gablehead stacks.

INTERIORS: not seen 1993.

Statement of Interest

Completed circa 1860, Patriothall was a development by the Edinburgh Northern District Co-operative Society. The design is very similar to the slightly earlier Rosemount Buildings near Gardners Crescent. Both schemes made a conscious effort to distinguish themselves from the traditional materials and planning of Edinburgh tenements, which had degenerated into overcrowded slums in the Old Town. Patriothall housed 42 families and was built at a cost of $4,500. The architect and social reformer Henry Roberts described the accommodation in his 1861 pamphlet: "(each dwelling comprises) an entrance lobby, a large living room, with spacious recess for a bed; two bedrooms in the back, (one of them full small, and the other with a fireplace) and a well arranged WC but no scullery; the sink is in the living room, ample closet and separate washing accommodation are to be provided in a separate building. All the rooms are 9ft high." The accounts of the painting and decorating firm of George Dobie & Sons show that the architect was John Starforth, a pupil of David Bryce. Other much later deck tenements can be found at Tron Square (1899) and McLeod Street (1898).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17795569

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

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  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
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  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas