39 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh

William Playfair, designed 1820-4; No 39 built 1823- early 1830s. Part of extremely long 121-bay palace front terrace of townhouses with arched and rusticated ground floor; to centre, 3-storey section punctuated by three 3-storey and attic Corinthian colonnaded pavilions; to left and right flanking 3-storey balustraded sections leading to 3-storey sections with 3-storey and attic Ionic colonnaded pavilions; 2-storey balustraded sections to outer left and right; basements to all houses. Droved ashlar to basement; V-chamfered rustication to ground floor; polished ashlar to upper floors; predominantly coursed squared rubble with dressed margins to rear elevation. To principal elevation: base course; dividing band between basement and ground floor; impost course to ground floor; dividing band between ground and 1st floors; to 1st floor, narrow band course broken by window to each bay. Regular fenestration to principal elevation; predominantly regular fenestration to rear elevation; to ground floor, round-headed openings in round-headed overarches.

N (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 2-storey, basement and attic, 3-bay elevation. To basement, timber-panelled door with segmental fanlight to centre, windows to left and right bays; all in segmentally-headed openings. To ground floor, left bay, steps and platt overarching basement recess, leading to timber-panelled door with flanking margin lights and petal glazed segmental fanlight; windows to remaining bays. Cast-iron balconnettes to 1st floor windows; band course above windows. Eaves cornice; balustraded parapet. 3 dormer windows to roof.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay elevation; Band course between basement and ground floors and between ground and 1st floors; eaves cornice; blocking course. Later full-height extension to centre bay.

GLAZING etc: to front elevation, 12-pane glazing to basement and attic, 17-pane glazing to ground floor, 15-pane glazing to 1st floor; predominantly 6-pane glazing to rear elevation; all glazing in timber sash and case windows. M-pitch roof with central valleys and mansard profile to front elevation; graded grey slate. To E and W, mutual corniced ridge stacks surmounted by octagonal flues; predominantly circular cans.

RAILINGS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: to front, edging basement recess and platt, stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings with dog bars, spear-head finials and distinctive circled border. To rear, forming boundary of gardens, random rubble walling with flat and saddleback coping.

INTERIOR: to ground floor: to lobby; fluted groin-vaulted ceiling.