14 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

14 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh

William Playfair designed this building in 1825 and it was constructed between 1826 and 1833. It forms part of a long terrace of 34 classical townhouses, each with a 3-bay frontage. The building was originally 2-storeys with an attic and basement, though many properties in the terrace have since acquired additional 3rd storeys. The terrace is interrupted by two 18-bay, 3-storey pavilions with advanced 3-bay sections at each end (numbers 11-16 and 23-28) and a 12-bay, 3-storey section at the western end (numbers 1-4). The terrace steps down at intervals to follow the slope of the road.

The basement is constructed from droved ashlar, while the upper floors use polished ashlar. The rear elevation is predominantly coursed squared rubble with dressed margins, with rendered work to the 3rd floor. The principal elevation features a base course, dividing bands between basement and ground floor, and between ground and 1st floors, with a cornice between ground and 1st floors. The 1st floor displays a continuous cast-iron trellis balcony with Greek key border. Further embellishments include a 2nd floor cill course, eaves cornice, and blocking course. The entrance is marked by a doorpiece with fluted attached Greek Doric columns. Windows are regularly spaced across the principal elevation with architraves to the ground and 1st floors and panelled aprons to the ground floor windows. The rear elevation displays predominantly regular fenestration.

The principal south-east elevation has 3 storeys and a basement. The basement features a centrally placed timber panelled and glazed door with a 3-light fanlight in a segmentally-headed opening, with windows to either side. To the ground floor, the right bay contains steps and a platform overarching the basement recess, leading to a 2-leaf timber-panelled door with a triple-circle glazed letterbox fanlight.

The north-west rear elevation is a 2-bay composition featuring an eaves course.

Glazing is predominantly 12-pane, with 15-pane glazing to the 1st floor front elevation and 20-lying-pane glazing to the right bay of the 1st floor rear. Windows are mostly timber sash and case. The roof is an M-shaped roof with central valley, covered in graded grey slate with stone skews and skewputts. Corniced mutual ridge stacks to the east and west are preceded at the front by individual octagonal flues, with predominantly circular cans.

To the front, cast-iron railings with dog bars and spear-head finials and a distinctive circled border edge the basement recess and platform, surmounted on stone coping. A wrought-iron lamp standard stands to the left of the platform. To the rear, a random rubble wall with predominantly flat coping forms the boundary of the garden.

The ground floor interior features a lobby with flagstone floor and a round-headed niche to the right, compartmented ceiling, and good plasterwork, with a timber and glazed pilastered screen and 2-leaf door. The front and rear rooms display good plasterwork with corniced and pilastered doorpieces. The former dining room contains an Ionic columned black marble chimneypiece. The rear room has had an area partitioned off to form an ensuite.

The 1st floor features good plasterwork throughout all rooms. The front room to the east has a white marble classical chimneypiece with an ornate cast-iron hob-grate. The former drawing room and rear room to the west both have classical white marble chimneypieces with cast-iron register grates, with a tiled hearth to the front room. Both rooms have corniced and pilastered doorpieces and are connected by double doors. Some rooms on the 2nd floor retain good plasterwork.

Stone cantilevered stairs with ornate cast-iron balusters run through the building. The landings feature good plasterwork, and an oval cupola surmounting a deep cavetto surround in a sail-vaulted ceiling crowns the upper circulation space.