15-19 North St Andrew Street, Edinburgh

1 York Place is a four-storey and basement terraced classical tenement built in 1824 on a corner site, designed by David Paton. The building is constructed from polished ashlar sandstone, featuring a base course, cornices at the principal and first floors, a mutuled cornice and blocking course at the third floor, and architraved windows at the second floor. Ashlar steps and oversailing entrance platts define the basement level.

The north (principal) elevation has two bays. The principal floor features four-light windows within the central bays, with a full-width bracketed iron balcony above, flanked by a pair of timber doors. The door on the right has a six-pane glazed centre panel, while the door on the left is a ten-pane glazed two-leaf door, both adorned with decorative tripartite rectangular fanlights. A four-light pilastraded first floor is above. Regular fenestration is present on the floors above, with pairs of windows in the bay to the left at both floors. At basement level, a glazed timber door and a window are present.

The corner tower, extending to create 1 York Place, has three bays and features seven-light pilastraded principal and first floors. A panelled timber door, centred on the principal floor, incorporates a nine-pane glazed upper panel and a decorative tripartite rectangular fanlight, surmounted by a wall-hung shop sign with a decorative iron frame supported on decorative iron brackets. Regular fenestration is present in the remaining bays at the principal floor. The first floor mirrors this with a seven-light pilastraded design. Regular fenestration extends to the floors above. Basement level windows and glazed timber doors are present on the corner tower.

The west (North St Andrew Street) elevation, which is four bays wide, has a built-out principal floor with a corniced frieze, a mutuled cornice and blocking course, and incorporates a doorway flanked by three-bay shopfronts, with a canted bay on the outer left. A shop on the right has steps leading to a glazed timber door flanked by plate glass windows with glazed returns; the shop on the left features steps to a glazed timber door in the bay to the right, with plate glass windows in the remaining bays, also with glazed returns. A seven-light pilastraded first floor is above.

The east elevation adjoins a terrace and is documented separately.

The south (North Clyde Street Lane) elevation is a three-bay gable. It features a six-light pilastraded principal and first floors. A vertically-boarded timber door with a cornice and six-pane rectangular fanlight is located on the outer right at the principal floor, with the penultimate lights from the left blind at both the principal and first floors. Regular fenestration is present on the floors above, with pairs of windows in the centre bay and blind windows in the bay to the left.

The rear elevation was not inspected in 1998.

The building features twelve-pane timber sash and case windows, a grey slate roof, cast-iron rainwater goods, gablehead stacks on the south elevation (shouldered), and wallhead stacks with recessed panels, cornices, and circular cans.

Interiors were not inspected in 1998.

Ashlar copes surmounted by decorative cast-iron railings are present.