Description

Matthews & Mackenzie, 1887; refurbished late 20th century. 4-storey to Holburn Street, 3-storey and attic to Union Grove, L-plan terrace. Tooled coursed grey granite, finely finished to margins and dressings. Holburn Street: finely finished ground floor, with pilasters flanking openings and quoins banded with rough-faced dark grey granite; dividing band courses; architraved windows to 1st and 2nd floors; deeply corniced band course between 3rd and 4th floors; pilastered windows to 4th floor; pierced parapet. Union Grove: base course; rough-faced vertical bands to ground floor; cill courses; dividing band courses; long and short contrasting dressings and quoins; pierced parapet; 3-light canted dormers to attic floor.

SE (HOLBURN STREET) ELEVATION: near-symmetrical; 9-bay; variety of shopfronts and doorways to ground floor; giant order pilasters to outer bays of 1st and 2nd floors, with stylised Ionic capitals; 3-light canted windows to each floor of curved outer angle to right; regular fenestration to 6 flanking bays to left at 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors; curved angle to penultimate bay to left, with 3-light canted windows to each floor; bipartite windows to 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors of bay to outer left.

NE (SIDE) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gabled; 2 openings to ground floor; window to centre of 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors, flanked to left by window.

NW (REAR) ELEVATION: irregular fenestration and doorway openings; stair bays advanced to right; canted windows to attic floor.

SW (SIDE) ELEVATION: asymmetrical; gabled; 2 windows to ground floor; single window to left of 1st, 2nd and attic floor.

S (UNION GROVE) ELEVATION: near-symmetrical; 14-bay; doorway flanked by modern plate-glass windows with canopies to ground floor of 8 Union Grove, panelled timber doors with letterbox fanlights flanked by bipartite and single windows to 10-14 Union Grove; regular fenestration to 1st and 2nd floors; canted windows to attic floor.

Predominantly 2-pane PVCu sash and case windows. Grey slate mansard roof with lead ridges. Stone skews with blocked skewputts. Coped gablehead, ridge and wallhead stacks with circular cans. PVCu rainwater goods.

INTERIORS: not seen 2000.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND INSET NICHE: coped granite rubble boundary walls to NW; tooled ashlar niche set into wall, with round-arched niche to centre.

Statement of Interest

Skene House is an imposing building originally built for Alexander Flett, by Matthews & Mackenzie. The ground floor on Holburn Street was intended to be retail units. The Holburn Street elevation is particularly grand, details of note being the giant order pilasters with stylised capitals, pilastered corner windows, and rough-faced granite bands to the ground floor. Refurbished late 20th century.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17770597

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

• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey