Moray House, 174 Canongate, Edinburgh

Moray House is a substantial mansion house located at 174 Canongate, Edinburgh, dating back to approximately 1625 with significant later additions. It is of outstanding architectural merit and group value. The main section is a two-storey building with a gabled first-floor balcony supported by large, carved corbels and three large windows with moulded margins, each topped with a strapwork pediment. The north elevation is distinguished by exposed rubble with ashlar dressings, while the rest of the exterior is harled. A nine-bay wing, added around 1647, adjoins the main block to the east. A further three-storey, five-bay block was constructed between 1753 and 1754 to the south. To the west stand tall, pyramidal gatepiers and a crowstepped lodge. A pantiled summerhouse is located at the southeast corner of the former garden.

The north elevation features a corbelled balcony with wrought-iron railings, a string course, and a rose finial at the gable apex. The east wing has moulded cill courses which step at ground floor level. Pedimented windows are found on the rear south gable, and a fleur-de-lys finial tops the apex. A semi-octagonal stair tower rises from the west elevation.

Inside, the first-floor balcony room on the north side contains a domed plaster ceiling with pediments, strapwork compartments, and low-relief panels featuring organic and mythological motifs. The "Cromwell Room" to the south boasts fine painted timber panelling depicting allegorical scenes and a domed plaster ceiling divided into quadrants by four large ribs, culminating in a plain saucer dome. It also includes a white marble fireplace and decorative carved and beaded doorframes. The head of the turnpike stair to the west has a turned timber balustrade and wooden newel post, ascending to a saucer-shaped plaster ceiling with 21 panels displaying similar motifs to those found elsewhere.

The building predominantly features multi-pane timber sash and case windows, with Scottish slate roofing. Ashlar skews are present, and there are two stacks on the west elevation of the main block, each with a pair of tall, diamond-set chimneys. The east wing has diamond-set ridge and end stacks, while the rear block has end stacks. Cast-iron rainwater goods are also featured.

The late 17th-century gates consist of a pair of substantial clustered-shaft piers, each crowned with a massive, elongated needle spire finial, and wrought-iron gates with a decorative iron arch above.

The 19th-century gate lodge, which is crowstepped, may incorporate fabric from the 17th or 18th centuries. It has a round-arched doorway to the street, with roll-moulded doorways elsewhere. The rear section is mansarded with an end stack, topped by a slate roof, and features timber sash and case windows.

The diminutive, single-storey summerhouse, situated at the southeast corner of the former Moray House garden, has a rectangular plan and a piend roof. It is constructed of coursed rubble with voussoired round-arched openings and a red pantiled roof. Heraldic beasts, which were formerly located at the roof corners, are currently stored within the summerhouse.