9 White Horse Close, 8, Canongate, Edinburgh

17th century origins. Restored and reconstructed, 1889 by James Jeerdan and again, 1964-5 by Sir Frank Mears and Partners (see Notes). Unified group of irregularly composed dwellings in picturesque Scots-Revival style arranged around tapering quadrangle. Variety of exposed and harled rubble with ashlar dressings. Predominantly raised cills, architraves and chamfered margins. Pend leads S to Nos 23-33 Canongate.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: White Horse Close comprises N ELEVATION: Bi-furcated forestair leading to flanking jettied timber and plaster gables with bowed fronts. Pedimented dormer breaking eaves above forestair with '1623' datestone. Irregular arrangement of doors and windows throughout. Crowstepped wallhead gable to right corner; below, 2-storey outshot in re-entrant angle. E ELEVATION: Advanced crowstepped gable to centre with right-angled forestair to right. Round-arched pediment to ground floor window to far right. S ELEVATION: Arrangement of outshots, stepped towards pend; pantiled single-storey section to centre. W ELEVATION: Unified run of harled 2-storey dwellings (Nos 2-5).

23-33 Canongate: Comprising 3-storey and attic building to Canongate with segmental-arched arcaded ground floor with rounded central arch; 3-bay, recessed garretted E section with timbered steeply pitched gable to attic; shop to ground. Oriel window at re-entrant angle to left.

Grey Scottish slate to Canongate elevation; red pantiles to White Horse Close properties. Harled and exposed red brick end and axial stacks. Clay cans.