1 Spylaw Avenue, Colinton, Edinburgh

12B Spylaw Park, Edinburgh

A large 2-storey and attic house designed by William Carruthers Laidlaw in 1906, with later additions and alterations. The building follows a roughly Z-plan arrangement, with the main house positioned to the east and south of an entrance forecourt, and a single-storey service wing (now separately numbered as 12B Spylaw Park) extending behind to the east.

The principal architectural feature is a semi-octagonal entrance tower set in the re-entrant angle of the forecourt, corbelled to square at second-floor level and crowned with a pyramidal roof. The tower is flanked by round buttresses with semi-pyramidal caps and contains a timber-panelled door with brass furniture set within a roll-moulded architrave topped by a blank tablet. V-oriels occupy the second floor of the tower, with small windows at first-floor level on either side.

The main elevations display varied fenestration typical of the period. The forecourt faces feature an entrance tower with flanking buttresses, a coped parapet with raised corner sections, and a weathervane. A verandah extends along the south elevation, though later alterations have modified its appearance. The west elevation includes an arched gateway with sandstone keystone and timber-boarded gate, fronted by a coped and rendered screen-wall. The south or garden elevation comprises four bays with an advanced gable to the right containing tripartite windows at both floors, and an advanced single-storey ingleneuk to the left with a lean-to tiled roof and two slit windows. The east elevation shows fairly regular fenestration.

Throughout the building, gabled dormers breaking the eaves at first-floor level and flat-roofed dormers to the attic are a consistent feature. Deep bracketed eaves and bargeboarded gables emphasise the roofline. Tapered wallhead stacks rise prominently, while cream-painted harling provides the principal wall finish, contrasted by red sandstone cills and other dressings.

Windows are predominantly timber sash and case with some small-pane glazing. The roof is finished in red tiles with plain ridge-tiles, and corniced stacks are topped with red clay cans.

The interior retains considerable period character. A panelled lobby with red tile floor leads to a timber staircase featuring cut-out hearts in the balusters and a newel post carved with lion masks. The drawing room (formerly the dining room) contains a timber chimney piece with carved detail to its centre and brick inset, flanked by recessed display shelves with cupboards beneath, and a corniced picture rail. Elliptical-arched 2-leaf timber-panelled doors provide access to an adjacent room. The sitting room features a dentilled coffered ceiling and a very large ingleneuk with a carved entrance arch, timber panelling, built-in seat, timber chimneypiece and bevelled-glass looking-glass above. A panelled ingleneuk in the study contains a timber chimneypiece with brick inset and flanking shelves with cupboards. Timber-panelled interior doors throughout, some decorated with ornamental brass doorplates.

The 12B Spylaw Park element comprises the cross-plan former service wing, with south, east and part of north wings being modern additions. It is irregularly fenestrated with windows and doors.

The boundary features a round-coped random rubble wall that rises at the north to form the gable of the service wing. Red sandstone ashlar gatepiers with pyramidal caps flank a 2-leaf cast-iron gate serving 1 Spylaw Avenue, with a foot gate featuring a tabbed ashlar surround and coping continued over to form the lintel at 12B Spylaw Park.