Easter Coates House, 32 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh

Easter Coates House, 32 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh

A 17th century laird's house, originally dated 1615, of two storeys with attic, built to an L-plan and incorporating earlier fabric. The building has been extensively altered and enlarged: Robert Brown made alterations in 1813; Sir Robert Rowand Anderson added a northern section in 1887; and George Henderson made further additions in 1904. All these additions incorporated earlier material salvaged from Edinburgh's Old Town.

The walls are of harl-pointed random rubble, with later additions in squared coursed rubble featuring some ashlar quoins. The building displays crowstepped gables, dormers breaking the wallhead, and corbelled corner turrets at the southern angles. The eastern elevation features a basket-arched doorway and a large shaped 17th century wallhead stack.

The west (entrance) elevation is roughly six bays with a lower three-bay block from 1887 adjoining to the north. A small single-storey porch sits at the centre, with a corbelled corner turret to the south. A crowstepped gable rises to the right of the porch, with a corbelled stair tower of rectangular plan in the re-entrant angle at upper stages. The northern 1887 block has a lower gable. Various thistle and fleur-de-lys finials crown the dormers. The dormer at the far right (south) bears a datestone inscribed 1615 with the initials J.B. and M.B. A grotesque face at the skewput supports a ball finial to the right of the lower gable; a crown finial caps the pinnacle. The 1887 block features ashlar long and short rybats, lintels and cills, including paired pedimented windows probably salvaged from the French Ambassadors Chapel (formerly in Cowgate, Edinburgh).

The south elevation is roughly a single bay with corbelled turrets at first-floor level at either corner and a crowstepped gable with irregular fenestration.

The east elevation is roughly seven bays, advanced at the centre and recessed to the north. A small gablet sits at the centre with a small corbelled turret in the re-entrant angle, flanked by a larger gable to the south. A later northern wing features large crowstepped gables breaking the wallhead, with a forestair to first-floor level in the re-entrant angle. A moulded string course runs at ground floor with a stepped version at first floor. The smaller northern gable has a parapet. Moulded stepped hoodmoulds ornament the centre, and a moulded round-arched window appears at ground-floor level at the centre. Dormers to the north have moulded architraved and hoodmoulded surrounds.

The north elevation is roughly a single bay with a corbelled tripartite canted window to the east and a crowstepped gable above.

Windows are predominantly 12-pane timber sash-and-case to the 17th century block, with multi-pane timber sash-and-case windows elsewhere. The 17th century wallhead stack is of roughly coursed rubble with a later cornice and no cans. Corniced ashlar ridge and gable-end stacks (some with modern repairs) support modern clay cans. The pitched roof is covered in grey slates with cast-iron rainwater goods.

The interior has been subject to later alterations converting the first floor to office space and the ground floor to a single residential dwelling. The entrance through the west porch leads into a stairwell with barley-twist balusters and a Tudor rib vault (circa 1830) overhead. Small doors at the first-floor corners to the south-east and south-west allow access to the corbelled turrets. Surviving 18th century panelling remains throughout.

The boundary wall to the north is of coursed squared rubble with a string course and moulded ashlar copes. A pilastered and moulded round arch sits at the centre with a corniced rectangular plinth above. A large ball finial ornaments the south-west. Some panels incorporating Latin inscriptions are set within the wall.