22 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

22 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

This grade A listed building is part of a long terrace of 34 classical townhouses designed by William Playfair in 1825 and built between 1826 and 1833. The terrace is composed of originally 2-storey houses with attic and basement elevations, punctuated by two 18-bay, 3-storey pavilions (at Nos 11-16 and 23-28) with 3-bay advanced sections to each end, and a 12-bay, 3-storey section at the western end (Nos 1-4). The terrace steps down at intervals to follow the slope of the road.

The principal south-east elevation features droved ashlar to the basement and polished ashlar to the upper floors, with predominantly coursed squared rubble and dressed margins to the rear elevation. The elevation is articulated by a base course, dividing bands between floors, and a cornice between ground and first floors. A continuous cast-iron trellis balcony with Greek key border runs along the first floor, with a band course dividing the first and second floors, a second-floor cill course, an eaves cornice, and a blocking course. The doorpiece is formed of fluted attached Greek Doric columns. The principal elevation displays regular fenestration with architraved windows to the ground and first floors and panelled aprons to the ground-floor windows, predominantly regular fenestration also to the rear elevation.

To the three-storey and basement principal elevation, the basement contains a timber-panelled and glazed door with a 3-light fanlight at the centre bay, with windows to the left and right bays, all in segmentally-headed openings. To the ground floor, the right bay has steps and a platt overarching the basement recess, leading to a 2-leaf timber-panelled door with a triple-circle glazed letterbox fanlight.

The rear north-west elevation is three bays with an advanced central bay and eaves course.

Glazing is predominantly 12-pane, with 15-pane glazing to the first floor of the front elevation and 16-pane glazing to the right bay of the rear elevation, predominantly in timber sash and case windows. The roof is M-shaped with a central valley and mansard profile to the front, graded with grey slate, stone skews and skewputts. Corniced mutual ridge stacks preceded by individual octagonal flues appear to the east and west at the front, with a small wallhead stack to the centre at the rear, predominantly with circular cans.

To the front, stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings with dog bars, spear-head finials, and a distinctive circled border edges the basement recess and platt. To the left of the platt is a wrought-iron lamp standard. To the rear, random rubble walls with predominantly flat coping form the boundary of the garden.

The interior contains several significant features. To the ground floor, the lobby has a stone flagged floor, a corniced and pilastered doorpiece with excellent plasterwork and a compartmented ceiling. The former dining room contains a timber chimneypiece (probably not original) and good plasterwork, while the rear room, subdivided, has a non-original cornice. To the first floor, the former drawing room features a classical white marble chimneypiece, corniced and pilastered 2-leaf doorpieces, and good plasterwork. The ante room between the front and rear rooms has a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The rear room to the west contains a classical black marble chimneypiece and good plasterwork, while the rear room to the east has a simple cornice. The second-floor landing has reeded architraving to doors. Stone cantilevered stairs with ornate cast-iron balusters are lined with timber panelling to the lower walls, topped by an oval cupola in a compartmented ceiling with simple plasterwork.