Stables And Greenhouse, Redwood House, 66 Spylaw Road, Edinburgh

Stables and Greenhouse, Redwood House, 66 Spylaw Road, Edinburgh

This is a classical villa, originally built around 1820 and re-erected at Spylaw Road circa 1870–75, then enlarged. It is a two-storey, three-bay building with a later three-stage Italianate tower and a northeastern addition. The main structure is constructed of grey sandstone with ashlar finish to the front and tower, while the rear and side walls are built of squared and snecked stugged rubble with polished or droved ashlar dressings. The building features a base course, an indented string course above channelled quoins, and a banded cill course with bracketed eaves to the slightly higher northeastern addition.

The southeast front elevation contains a recessed tower to the right. The ground floor is channelled, with a Greek Doric porch at the centre featuring fluted columns to an advanced bay. The porch has a blocking course bearing a tablet above, a panelled door with a rectangular plate glass fanlight, and a tiled vestibule. Above the porch at first-floor level is an architraved window framed by pilasters with a fluted frieze that breaks the eaves. A cornice and swagged tablet crown the blocking course. The outer bays on this elevation have single windows set within round-arched panels at ground floor level and single architraved windows above.

The Italianate tower features single windows at the first and second stages. The top stage has moulded and keystoned bipartite windows to each face, with the southeast-facing window being blind. The tower is topped by a heavy cornice, a balustraded parapet (with one section missing), and corner dies with ball finials.

The northwest rear elevation includes a later addition to the left with bipartite windows at first and second-floor levels and a pedimented timber dormer. A bowed dormer with a finialled half-conical roof projects to the southwest. The main three-bay block contains single windows to the left bay, a single window and secondary door in the central bay, and a shouldered and corniced wallhead stack to the right bay.

The southwest elevation is four bays wide. The bay to the right of centre is advanced and has angle pilasters channelled at ground-floor level. An architraved and pedimented tripartite ashlar window at ground floor displays paterae inset to a fluted frieze, with a single window at first-floor level above. Single windows occupy the bay to the left of centre, while the outer bays feature full-height bowed ashlar bays with three windows each.

The northeast elevation is four bays with an engaged tower to the left. A rubble-built addition sits in the re-entrant angle by the tower. The bay to the left of centre has a tall bipartite stair window with border glazing and etched glass. The bay to the right of centre has single windows. A later advanced addition to the right bears a carved tablet with entwined letters "FB" at second-floor level under a scrolled wallhead stack. This section includes a secondary door, single and bipartite windows, and a pedimented timber dormer on the return.

The late 19th-century conservatory is an elaborate single-storey structure built on an ashlar plinth with round-arched openings (some featuring etched glass), two rectangular rooflights, and a central ogee-shaped finialled cupola.

The stable block and greenhouse form a U-plan arrangement to the northeast, designed by MacGibbon and Ross in 1878. The stable block is single-storey, constructed of squared and snecked stugged rubble with exposed rafters to the eaves. A dormerheaded and gabled hayloft door with kingposts provides access. The adjoining rectangular-plan gabled greenhouse has a brick plinth, round-arched openings, and cast-iron brattishing with a thistle motif to the raised ridge section. A gabled glazed porch projects from one side.

Throughout the building, windows are timber sash and case with plate glass glazing, some with four panes to the rear. The roofing includes Scottish slate piend and platform tiles to the main block, with lead flashings and finials. Wallhead stacks are distributed across the building, with a stack to the northeast, a grooved stack to the southwest of the northeastern addition, and two central corniced stacks.

The interior contains ornate cornices with plaster consoles at ground-floor level and a coved ceiling with plasterwork over the stair.

A tall rubble boundary wall with semi-circular coping extends to the rear and sides, with obelisk gatepiers marking the entrance.