Rock House, Calton Hill, Edinburgh

Rock House is a semi-detached house built in the later 18th century, situated on an elevated site above the road in Calton Hill, Edinburgh. The house features three bays, is two stories tall with an attic, and has a single-storey and attic extension to the rear that was added in the late 19th century. The exterior is stuccoed, with rubble at the rear and a timber and painted brick extension, and it has polished ashlar margins. Notable architectural details include a base course, a band course separating the ground and first floors, and an eaves course, along with raised long and short quoins and regular fenestration.

On the south (principal) elevation, there is a timber-panelled door with a letterbox fanlight, flanked on the left by a window and on the right by a part-glazed timber-panelled door. To the left, there is a single piended dormer on the roof. The north (rear) elevation features a smaller additional window between the left and central bays. The east (side) elevation consists of a two-bay, two-storey section, with an extension wing at the far right.

The glazing predominantly consists of 12-pane timber sash and case windows, while the extension has plate glass glazing. The dormer includes a timber fascia with grey slate haffits and roof, and there are three rooflights on the south elevation and two on the north elevation. The pitched roof is covered with graded grey slate and features stone skews and skewputts, along with a part stuccoed, part rendered gablehead stack with octagonal cans on the east gable.

Access to the property is through a gateway and gate set in the east boundary wall, which is below the level of the house. The gateway has droved jambs with chamfered inner edges and a polished lintel, topped with an elaborate wrought iron gate that incorporates the words 'ROCK HOUSE'. The boundary walls include a low random rubble wall with flat ashlar copes to the south, walls flanking the steps up to the house made of random rubble with flat ashlar copes to the east, a high random rubble wall with a round-headed arch over the steps running north to south, and a random rubble wall to the north.