1 And 2 Chessel's Court (W Block), Canongate

1 and 2 Chessel's Court, known as the W Block, is a pair of fine, adjoining tenement buildings dating from around 1770. They are prominently located on the west side of Chessel's Court and were restored in 1963-64 by Robert Hurd and Partners. The buildings are constructed from harled and painted rubble with ashlar dressings.

The south block is three stories tall with an attic and basement, featuring a four-bay principal elevation. It has an L-plan forestair leading up to a central two-leaf timber door with a box fan-light and a moulded architrave. The central gable has a wallhead with a coped stack at the apex, and there are later cat-slide dormers on either side. The rear of this block is four stories high, with a full-height stair outshot at the fourth bay.

The north block is four stories tall and includes a canted, full-height stairtower at the fourth bay. The south gable end has small windows on each floor to the right, while the rear elevation features irregular groupings of small windows on each floor.

Both blocks predominantly have 12-pane timber sash and case windows, a grey slate roof, end stacks, and cast-iron rainwater goods.