47, 49, 49A North Castle Street, 45, 45A, Edinburgh

47, 49, 49A North Castle Street, and 45, 45A in Edinburgh are three-storey buildings with a basement and a later mansard roof, dating from around 1795, with subsequent alterations. Originally a pair of classical houses, they now contain flats above and feature a later 19th-century shop at the ground level of No 45. The buildings are constructed from cream sandstone ashlar with polished dressings. The basement and second floor are droved, while the ground floor has V-jointed rustication. The first floor is polished with a band course above, and there is an eaves cornice and long and short quoins.

The outer bays are designed as a pair of bows, with doors leading to the central three bays, the right bay being slightly broader. The left door is arched and recessed, featuring a radiating fanlight, while the center has a plate glass rectangular fanlight. To the right, there is a rendered shopfront with panelled piers and an entablature, which incorporates a bow and a pair of doors leading to the shop and first floor, both with rectangular plate glass fanlights. The early 20th-century mansard roof includes four balancing corniced tripartite and bipartite dormers.

The windows are timber sash and case, mostly with plate glass, although some have 12 panes, and the shop windows consist of single sheets. The building features ashlar coped skews, rendered stacks, and a central ashlar stack facing the street, which is likely a later addition. The roof is covered with grey slates, and there is a largely blank rubble gable with windows at the center.

Inside No 49, there is an enriched ceiling in the hall and a later glazed screen. A curving cantilevered staircase, which is top-lit and has square iron banisters, continues to the second floor and again to the attic, where it is boxed in. The former dining room includes a sideboard recess and panelled pilasters at the window. The front room on the second floor also features a sideboard recess and a panelled dado. No 49 was not seen in 1995.