Description

1897. City Engineers Department. 4-storey and attic, 12-bay, crowstepped and gabled, near symmetrical, Scots Baronial tenement situated on steeply sloping site with deck-access housing to High School Yards (S) and shops to ground at Cowgate (N). Squared and snecked rubble with red sandstone margins. Cornice above shops, red sandstone band course and blocking course to S. Corbelled angle bay to NE corner.

S ELEVATION: pair of recessed 7-bay sections with 1-bay outer bays flank advanced 2-bay central section. Concrete balconies with iron supporting columns and railings. Central round-arched openings leading to stairwells. Narrow sidelights to window openings to advanced bays with sandstone mullions.

Predominantly 8-and 12-pane timber sash and case windows to flats, plate glass to shops. Grey slates, gable and ridge stacks.

STEPS TO E: dog-leg flight of stairs leading from Cowgate up to High School yards, accessed through segmental-arch and with further supporting segmental arch to right. Squared and snecked rubble with red sandstone dressings. Square-plan coped dividing red sandstone piers to stair amd decorative iron railing banisters.

Statement of Interest

This tenement was the first of 6 municipal housing developments to be built following the 1893 Urban Sanitary Improvement Scheme and the only one to contain shops. This scheme aimed to remove the most unsanitary housing while respecting the historic character of the Old Town of Edinburgh. The Scots Baronial style was ideal for this purpose and is typical for the area. This block replaced cramped and crowded housing and contributes significantly to the streetscape. It remains largely unaltered externally. Deck-access for the flats was considered at the time to be more beneficial to health than the more typical closed-stair tenement, which did not allow for 'through ventilation'. Unlike some of the other blocks, there was no public open space associated with these dwellings as the site itself was so restricted.

Other municipal housing blocks built between 1897 and 1902, include 1-17 Tron Square and 16-20 McLeod Street (see separate listings).

Unlike the previous improvements following the 1867 Edinburgh Improvement Act, these tenements were smaller scale developments, influenced by the 'conservative surgery' approach pioneered by Sir Patrick Geddes. The political backing for the schemes came from Lord Provost James Alexander Russell, who had been trained in medicine and public health.

A significant aspect of the scheme was the use of local government funding. Initially, it had not been intended to provide any additional municipal housing. However, it was deemed necessary for the council to intervene to deal with the acute shortage of accommodation at the cheaper end of the market, caused by other street improvements and the extension of Waverley Station.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17809468

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

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)