1, 2 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh

John Lessels, 1855-6 (Melville Crescent splayed elevation) linking to earlier Robert Brown end terrace blocks of 1814 fronting 45 Melville Street and 20 Walker Street. All 3-storey and basement unified façade of classical houses with main-door and common stair flats behind; oversailing platts; later attic addition to No. 1 Melville Crescent. Basement area to street including some vaulted cellars and retaining walls. Sandstone ashlar, channelled at ground floor. Banded base course; banded cill and string courses at 1st floor; banded cill course at 2nd floor. Stepped parapets with balustrades in between. Cast-iron balconies on foliate brackets at 1st floor. Decorative cast-iron arches, with lamp holder to Melville Street.

E (MELVILLE CRESCENT) ELEVATION: symmetrical, 9-bays. Advanced and pilastered central 3 bays and single end bays with architraved bracketed and corniced 1st floor windows. Cross design to parapet at left.

SE (MELVILLE STREET AND WALKER STREET) ELEVATIONS: symmetrical 5-bays. Advanced flanking bays and recessed centre. Sandstone ashlar vermiculated to basement. Entrance platts oversailing basement, main entrance to centre with round arched surround, narrow sidelights and fanlight above, radial glazing to Melville Street. Architraved, bracketed and corniced surrounds at 1st floor; architraved, bracketed and pedimented surround to centre.

Predominantly plate glass in timber sash and case windows. Double pitch M-section roof; grey slates. Corniced ashlar gable end and ridge stacks, modern clay cans. Cast-iron railings on ashlar coping stone edging basement recess.

INTERIOR: interiors typified by highly decorative classical scheme converted for later office and residential use (2008). No. 2 Melville Street has dog-leg stair topped by large cupola with further decorative cornicing and roundel panels, and retains deep and highly detailed cornicing throughout ground and 1st floors. Doric columns to ground floor drawing room; Corinthian columns with foliate capitals and large decorated console brackets at 1st floor drawing room. Some original marble fire surrounds with keystone and intricate relief panels containing foliate pattern.

ARCHED LAMP HOLDERS: large ornate cast-iron arches above entrance platt to Melville Street with lampholder to centre; some with glass bell-jar shades. Coiled cast-iron serpent lamp snuffers to each side of archway.

ANCILLARY BUILDINGS AND BOUNDARY WALLS TO REAR: various single storey ancillary buildings to the rear, some later. Sandstone ashlar, with pitched and piended slate roofs and regular fenestration with some blind windows. Coursed random rubble boundary walls, with some ashlar quoins and copes.