52 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh

52 Palmerston Place is a group of terraced townhouses designed by John Chesser between 1875 and 1880. The building has a basement and four stories, with No 1 featuring four bays, while Nos 2 and 3 each have three bays. No 3 is positioned at the curve of the crescent. The exterior is constructed of ashlar sandstone and includes a string course at the first and third floors, a dentilled cornice, and a balustraded parapet at the roof.

On the principal elevation facing south, each townhouse has single windows at the basement level. The entrance to No 1 is located in the second bay from the right, with single windows in the two bays to the left. Above the entrance, there are three windows with segmental pediments and balustrading, and the window above the door features a cantilevered balcony. Additional single windows rest on brackets above, with more single windows at the third floor. No 1 also has a two-storey canted bay with balustrading in the right bay and tripartite lights above at the third and fourth floors. No 2 follows a similar pattern but has only three bays and features a two-leaf entrance door with wrought-iron decorative grilles over the fanlight and side-lights. No 3 has a central door with a single window to the right, and above are single windows with segmental pediments and balustrading. The central window at the first floor has a balcony, with single windows resting on brackets above at the second and third floors. There is a single-storey bow with balustrading at the ground floor to the left and a canted bay with balustrading above at the first floor, along with tripartite windows at the second and third floors.

The west elevation is adjoining properties, while the north elevation was not visible in 2001. The east elevation of 52 Palmerston Place features a central door with a segmental fanlight recessed in an architrave frame, with single windows above. To the right, there is a three-storey canted bay crowned with a cast-iron balustrade, and bipartite windows at the third floor. The ground floor has a bipartite light in the left bay, with similar windows above at the second and third floors.

The windows throughout the building are 2-pane timber sash and case. The roof is concealed, with coped mutual stacks and wallhead stacks serving Nos 1 Eglinton Crescent and 53 Palmerston Place. The property features spiked railings to the street, set in coping, as well as railings to the ashlar steps and entrance platts, and plain railings for the steps leading down to the basement.