14 Oswald Road, Edinburgh

This is a substantial, two-storey and basement villa with an attic, built in 1898 to a design by John Kinross of Kinross and Tarbolton. The house is situated on a corner plot on steeply sloping ground, and incorporates a single-storey service block to the northwest. The construction is of raked-jointed rubble sandstone with ashlar dressings.

The principal design is inspired by a Scottish 17th-century villa. The east-facing Oswald Road elevation features a recessed gabled bay to the left, with two bays centrally and to the right. A window at ground level is surmounted by a pediment and finial. A decorative panel featuring a carved vase of flowers sits above the two-leaf boarded doors, which are situated in a half-gabled return. A window above the door features a wreath carving. A cast-iron lamp bracket is located to the left of the door. A full-height canted window is set within the outer right bay, corbelled to square at the first floor, topped by a window within the gablehead.

The north-facing Mortonhall Road elevation is three bays wide, featuring a lop-sided gable to the left with a first-floor window. This window is crowned by a trapezoid pediment bearing the monogram "JB". Two lower bays sit to the right, with windows at ground level and ashlar gabled dormers breaking the eaves above. A low single-storey service block extends to the outer right, featuring an ashlar mullioned bipartite window under the eaves.

The south elevation presents two bays, with a recessed door bay to the outer right and a recessed service block to the outer left. A full-height canted window is situated in the bay to the left, corbelled to square at the first floor, with a pilaster-flanked window in the gablehead, incorporating a carved wreath. Windows are also present on each floor of the flanking bay to the right.

The west-facing elevation is M-gabled, with the left gable slightly advanced and overlapping the right gable. The service block’s gable is also advanced at ground level. A bipartite window and ground floor window are positioned on a chamfered angle to the centre at first floor level. A basement door is set into the outer angle, and a pedimented window is located to the right of centre on the first floor. The windows throughout the house are generously sized and utilize small-pane and multi-pane glazing patterns within sash and case frames. The roof is covered with Westmoreland slates and ashlar ridge tiles. Moulded coping defines the gableheads, and wallhead stacks are present. Dormers with bargeboards are discreetly incorporated into the west, south, and east roof pitches.

The interior retains fine original details, including joinery work by Scott Morton and Co. Inlaid vestibule and hall floors are complemented by decorative plasterwork cornices and ceiling details, with a frequent use of thistle motifs. Built-in cupboards and display cabinets are also present. The kitchen features well-crafted oak dressers and scullery fittings. Substantial corner corbels are found in the bedroom ceilings. An archway leads to the attic landing, with decorative plasterwork recesses surrounding the saucer skylights. The attic billiard room has a coved ceiling and a distinctive ashlar moulded chimney piece inscribed "East or West Home is Best," featuring a carved cartouche and a corbelled plaster canopy. The property is surrounded by boundary walls constructed of coursed sandstone rubble with a saddleback ashlar coping, with steps leading to the side elevations. Boarded two-leaf timber gates provide access.