1 Royal Circus, Edinburgh

Royal Circus, Edinburgh

A Grade-listed building designed by W H Playfair between 1821 and 1823, with the India Street section designed by William and Lewis A Wallace in the early 19th century. The principal building comprises a 43-bay crescent with flanking tangential terraces, constructed in polished ashlar sandstone with V-jointed rustication at the principal floors and droved ashlar sandstone at basement level. The design incorporates a base course at principal floor level, cill courses at the 1st and 2nd floors, and cornices with blocking courses at the 2nd floors of linking blocks, continued as cornices at the 2nd floors of the central and terminal pavilions, with further cornice and blocking courses at the 3rd floors of these pavilions. Ashlar steps and entrance platts oversail the basements.

The principal north elevation comprises a 4-storey building with basement, featuring a 9-bay central pavilion flanked by pairs of 3-storey and basement linking blocks, each of 12 bays. These are in turn flanked by pairs of 4-storey and basement, 5-bay terminal pavilions. Doors are positioned in the 3rd and 4th bays from the left and the 3rd bay from the right at principal floor level in the central pavilion, with windows in the remaining bays and regular fenestration to the floors above. The east linking blocks feature doors in every 3rd bay from the central pavilion at principal floor level, with windows in the remaining bays and regular fenestration above. The west linking block contains windows in 4 central bays at principal floor, flanked by doors and pairs of windows to the left and right, with further doors to the outer left and right. The terminal pavilions have doors centred at principal floor level, flanked by windows in the remaining bays, with regular fenestration above. The doors are predominantly 6-panel timber with plate glass rectangular fanlights, with decorative fanlights to Nos 13 and 19. Roman Doric pilasters flank the central 5 bays of the central pavilion at the 1st and 2nd floors and flank the bays of the terminal pavilions at these levels, with panelled pilasters flanking the central 5 bays at the 3rd floor of the central pavilion and the flanking bays of the terminal pavilions at this level. A flagged basement area contains predominantly vertically boarded timber doors to cellars.

The north-west elevation (Circus Gardens, Nos 1–6) comprises a 15-bay elevation of 3-storey with attic and basement, featuring a 9-bay linking block of 3 houses each with 3 bays, flanked by pairs of 4-storey and basement, 3-bay terminal pavilions. The linking block contains doors in the left bays, windows in the central and right bays, with regular fenestration above. The terminal pavilions feature doors in the right bays at principal floor, windows in the central and left bays, and regular fenestration to the floors above. Doors are 6-panel timber with plate glass rectangular fanlights. Roman Doric pilasters flank the bays at the 1st and 2nd floors of the terminal pavilions, with panelled pilasters flanking the bays at 3rd floor. A flagged basement area contains predominantly vertically boarded timber doors to cellars.

The west elevation, comprising 29–33 India Street, was designed by William and Lewis A Wallace in the early 19th century. This is a 4-storey and basement, 7-bay near-symmetrical tenement in a terraced site with band courses at the principal, 1st and 3rd floors and cill courses at the 1st and 2nd floors, with cornice and blocking course at the 3rd floor. Round-arched doorpieces are centred at principal floor and positioned in the 3rd bay from the right, with 6-panel doors featuring radial semicircular fanlights. Regular fenestration occupies the remaining bays at principal floor and to the floors above, with blind windows at all floors in the penultimate bay from the left. Cast-iron window guards are fitted to the enlarged 1st floor windows of No 29. A flagged basement area contains vertically boarded timber doors to cellars. The south elevation is obscured by the adjoining terrace at 31 India Street.

The north-east elevation (South East Circus Place, Nos 1–9A) comprises a 12-bay elevation of 3-storey with attic and basement, featuring a 6-bay linking block flanked by pairs of 4-storey and basement, 3-bay terminal pavilions. The linking block has doors positioned left of centre and to the outer right at principal floor, with windows in the remaining bays, including a later bipartite window in the outer left bay and a small-pane window to the left of the door. Roman Doric pilasters flank the bays at the 1st and 2nd floors of the terminal pavilions, with panelled pilasters flanking the bays at 3rd floor. A blind window appears in the penultimate bay from the left at 2nd floor level. A flagged basement area contains predominantly vertically boarded timber doors to cellars.

The east elevation (Howe Street, Nos 40–48A) is a 4-storey and basement, 6-bay tenement in a terraced site, with pilastraded and corniced shop fronts at principal floor. The shop fronts comprise a door at centre, flanked by a 12-pane window to the left, a common stair door to the right, flanked in turn by pairs of 3-bay shop fronts to the outer left and right. These feature 2-leaf timber doors at their centres, flanked by 12-pane windows to the left, with the former having 8-panel 2-leaf timber doors flanked by 12-pane windows and the latter comprising a recessed doorpiece with a later part-glazed timber door and plate glass windows. Decorative rectangular fanlights are fitted to the doors. Cill courses appear at the 1st and 2nd floors, with band course, cornice and blocking course at the 3rd floor. The south elevation is obscured by the adjoining terrace. A flagged basement area contains predominantly vertically boarded timber doors to cellars.

Throughout the building, windows are predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. The roofs are finished in grey slate with M-profile covering and cast-iron rainwater goods. Window guards are fitted to all 1st floor windows, except at Howe Street, and to the penultimate bay from the left at South East Circus Place linking block. The building features pairs of polygonal piended dormers at Nos 3 and 5 Circus Gardens, a pair of recessed piended dormers at No 4 Circus Gardens, a polygonal piended dormer and pair of box dormers at the South East Circus Place linking block. Ridge, gablehead and shouldered wallhead stacks are of varied broached and polished ashlar construction, coped with circular cans.

Interior spaces, not inspected in 1997, show evidence of working panelled shutters. The square-plan interior of No 1 Royal Circus contains a plain groin vault between segmental arches. No 21 Royal Circus has a segmental vault. Decorative timber and plaster work incorporating Jacobean strapwork and Tudor roses is present at No 4 Circus Gardens.

Railings and lamp fixtures consist of ashlar copes surmounted by cast-iron railings with fleur-de-lis balusters and quasi-Maltese finials to the Royal Circus, Circus Gardens and India Street elevations. The Howe Street and Nos 1–5 South East Circus Place elevations have fleur-de-lis balusters with pineapple finials. Cast-iron railing-mounted lamps with glass globes complete the boundary treatment.

Associated mews building at 24 Jamaica Street, North Lane, dating to the early 19th century, comprises a 2-storey, 4-bay structure in coursed rubble with polished and droved ashlar dressings. The principal south elevation features a timber door to the outer right at ground level with a small light to the left, and 2-leaf vertically-boarded part-glazed sliding garage doors centred at ground level with timber runner. Windows break the eaves in stone dormerheads at attic level. The west gable is predominantly blank, with a modern garage door in a stone-coped rendered wall adjoining at ground level. Windows are predominantly plate glass timber sash and case. The roof is finished in grey slate with cast-iron rainwater goods and coped skews.