Description

John M Aitken, dated 1885. 2-storey and attic 6-bay terrace comprising 2 2-bay symmetrically disposed houses in bays to left, 2-bay house to right with wide canted bay to outer right. Stugged squared and snecked sandstone walls with droved ashlar dressings. Base course and eaves cornice. Margined windows with projecting cills, segmental-arched at 1st floor.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: CARRADALE AND SOLHEIM: canted glazed timber porch with stugged sandstone base fronting centre bays comprising segmental-arched 4-pane fixed-lights and panelled timber doors with 4-pane uppers and segmental-arched plate glass fanlights above. Panelled inner doors with leaded and stained glass uppers and sidelights. Regular fenestration in bays above. 2-storey, 3-light canted bays in outer bays; each with corniced lintel at ground and cill course at 1st floor.

SUMMERSIDE: segmental-arched entrance door with bracketted cornice above at ground in bay to left; 6-panel timber entrance door with decorative cast-iron top panels; panelled inner door with etched glass upper and screen around. Wide 2-storey canted bay in bay to right, corniced lintels with floreate carving at ground, cill course with bracketted and corniced projecting cills at 1st floor; arcaded bipartite window with floreate capital to centre face.

S ELEVATION (SUMMERSIDE): asymmetrical 3-bay elevation; modern conservatory on stugged sandstone base (following original pattern) at ground in bay to left, shouldered 6-flue wallhead stack slightly advanced and breaking eaves above, carved monogram with architects initials and date at centre. Single windows at ground and 1st floors in centre bay; bipartite in bay to right.

E (REAR) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 6-bay elevation comprising 2-bay symmetrical elevation of Summerside advanced at left; 4-bay symmetrical elevation of Solheim and Carradale at right.

SUMMERSIDE: single storey lean-to projecting at ground; narrow windows to outer left and right at 1st floor, shouldered 4-flue wallhead stack breaking eaves at centre.

SOLHEIM AND CARRADALE: regular fenestration at ground and 1st floors in centre bays; chimneygable with segmental-arched windows breaking eaves above; modern gabled porches flanking inner bays at ground; regular fenestration in outer bays.

N ELEVATION: blank gable end with rubble infilled presses at each floor to right and left.

Predominantly 4-pane timber sash and case windows, modern glazing at ground floor of S elevation. Purple-grey slate mansard roof with platform, piended over canted bay and to rear of Summerside. Decorative cast-iron profiled gutters; round-arched lead-clad timber dormers with plate glass timber sash and case windows in each bays; canted timber dormers with plate glass sidelights over piended roofs to canted bays at Carradale and Solheim. Stugged sandstone stacks, corniced with octagonal cans.

BOUNDARY WALLS: random rubble boundary wall with saddleback cope to S. Rubble dwarf wall with ashlar cope and cast-iron railing to King Harald Street; terminated to S by gateway comprising stugged and droved square sandstone ashlar gatepiers, with bases and machicolated cornices to caps with semicircular faces; 2-leaf cast-iron gates. Cast-iron gate with finialled stanchion at entrance doors. Ashlar-coped walls dividing W gardens.

Statement of Interest

An old photograph shows the site with only Summerside built including the conservatory. An imposing terrace on this prominent corner site on the approach road to the town centre. It is particularly of interest as Summerside was the house of John M Aitken who was the most prolific architect and building contractor in Lerwick at the end of the 19th century. It appears that a matching house to Summerside was proposed at the N end of the terrace to give a symmetrical E elevation. In his book, Manson describes Summerside Terrace as "a building which strikes one as being the creation of a man of fine taste".

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77770680

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

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  For the Record