2 Glencairn Crescent, Edinburgh

2 Glencairn Crescent, Edinburgh

A 4-storey corner block with basement, designed by Alexander Macnaughtan under John Chesser and completed in 1879. The building forms the end pavilion to Nos 36–48 (even numbers) Palmerston Place and Nos 3–27 Glencairn Crescent.

The exterior is finished in polished, channelled sandstone ashlar with polished dressings; the basement is faced in droved channelled sandstone. The building features a base course, banded cill courses to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors, bracketed beneath windows (except at the 3rd floor), a string course and bracketed cornice, and a stone wallhead balustrade. The main entrances have corniced doorpieces with foliated consoles flanking pilastered, keystoned depressed arches (round-arched to 50 Palmerston Place). Two-storey and basement canted bays with cornice and blocking course at each level project from the facades; those on Glencairn Crescent are fitted with ornamental wrought-iron balustrades to the windows above. Block cills are used to basement windows, and 1st floor windows have consoled cornices.

The Palmerston Place (east) elevation presents an advanced, 4-bay front with a 3-storey and basement canted bay at the outer left. The ground floor contains a doorpiece with part-glazed timber door, flanking lights and semicircular fanlight to the penultimate bay to the left, with single windows to two bays to the right. Upper floors have single windows to most bays, with some blocked openings. The canted bay at the outer left has lights to each face at ground, 1st and 2nd floors, and a bipartite window to the 3rd floor above. A wallhead stack rises above the penultimate bay to the right.

The Glencairn Crescent (north) elevation divides into two sections. The 8-bay section at left, adjoining Palmerston Place, has part-glazed timber doors with rectangular fanlights at the penultimate bay to the left and a panelled door with fanlight at the penultimate bay to the right. Single windows are distributed across all remaining bays and floors, with a 2-storey canted bay to the outer left and a doorpiece to the penultimate bay to the left at ground level with single windows above. The 3-bay angled section at right links with the adjoining recessed, 3-storey bowed terrace (Nos 3–27 Glencairn Crescent, listed separately). This section includes a part-glazed door with fanlight to the right of the platt, a doorpiece to the central bay at ground level, and a 2-storey canted bay to the outer right with tripartite windows to two floors above.

Windows throughout are 2-pane timber sash and case glazing. The roof is concealed behind the wallhead balustrade. Wallhead stacks and mutual stacks are in coped, moulded sandstone ashlar with tall, moulded octagonal cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout. Spiked railings set in coping protect the street frontage, and additional spiked railings run to the ashlar steps and entrance platts.