23 Dundas Street, Edinburgh

This is an early 19th century tenement on a corner site in Edinburgh, designed by Robert Reid and William Sibbald, with alterations made in the later 19th century. It is four storeys high with a basement and incorporates a wallhead attic, presenting a nearly symmetrical five-bay facade to Dundas Street (the principal elevation) and a four-storey, five-bay elevation to Northumberland Street.

The building is constructed of painted ashlar at basement and ground floor level, with droved sandstone ashlar above. A cornice sits above a consoled balcony and the pilastered shop front at the principal ground floor. Projecting cills are visible at the second floor, and a cornice is continued as a band course on the Northumberland Street elevation. A string course with a blocking course runs at the third floor. Ashlar steps and entrance platts overhang the basement. Window heights diminish towards the attic.

The principal (west) elevation features a flight of steps leading to a nine-panel timber stair door with plate glass fanlight. Architraved shop windows curve forward to the steps in the penultimate bay to the left. Pilasters flank windows and doors, and clasp the southwest corner at the principal floor. A pair of shops occupy the left side, featuring paired doors flanked by shop windows, with a two-leaf timber door and a multi-pane shop window in the left doorway. The upper floors have regular fenestration.

The Northumberland Street (south) elevation is also nearly symmetrical, with pilasters flanking the doors and windows of a five-bay shop front. The right bays are slightly advanced, and a modern shop door is located at the outer left, with plate glass windows in the remaining bays. Regular fenestration is found on the upper floors, with a blind window at the first floor and further blind windows above in the bay to the left of centre, and at the third floor in the bay to the outer left.

The north and east elevations adjoin other terraces, which are listed separately.

The windows are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows, with 12-pane timber casements including lying panes at the first floor. The roof is covered with grey slate. Rendered and lined shouldered wallhead stacks are visible to the left of centre on the south and west elevations, alongside a matching gablehead stack to the north. The coped stacks have circular cans. A decorative iron railing is present on the balcony at the left of centre.

The interior of 23B Dundas Street includes a painted classical mural and there is some evidence of working panelled shutters. The iron railings found externally have ashlar copes surmounted by iron railings, with some spear-headed finials remaining.