1B Wardie Steps, Edinburgh

3 Wardie Steps in Edinburgh is a group of five cottages built around 1890, possibly incorporating earlier elements. These two-storey cottages feature piend-roofed dormerheads that break the eaves, reflecting Scottish 17th-century architectural styles. The buildings are arranged in an L-plan and step up the slope. A notable feature is the tile-hung bell tower with an ogee roof and a weathervane. The construction consists of stugged, snecked, and squared sandstone rubble, accented with ashlar dressings, including quoins.

On the northeast elevation, there are two bays. A corbelled tripartite oriel window on the first floor is offset to the left and breaks the eaves with a curved dormerhead. To the right, there is a segmental-arched carriage pend that has been blocked as a door (of No 1A), with a window to its right.

The northwest elevation features a slightly advanced two-bay gable end for No 1 on the left. The door in the right bay has a roll-moulded architrave and a pedimented door-piece, with an oculus above. The left bay has two windows. To the right, No 1B has an asymmetric three-bay elevation, with a small high window in the left bay, a larger window in the center, and a door to the left of the right bay. There is also a window breaking the eaves to the right and a small catslide dormer centrally above.

The southwest elevation shows a two-bay side elevation of No 1B, featuring three graduated windows, the largest on the left at ground level. There are two dormerheads for the first-floor windows breaking the eaves, along with a later slate-hung full dormer in the center. Stepping up, there is a four-bay asymmetrical elevation for Nos 2 and 3. No 2 has a door in the right bay, topped by a straight cornice, with a small window to the left and two windows to the right at ground level, along with two dormerheads for the first-floor windows breaking the eaves above. No 3 has an off-set door to the left, surmounted by an arched cornice, a window to the right, and a bipartite window in a piend-roofed dormerhead breaking the eaves above.

At the rear northeast elevation, there is a semi-circular stair tower behind No 3. The windows throughout predominantly feature six small panes above and two below, constructed in timber sash and case style. The roofs are covered with graded grey slate, and the stone-coped skews have scrolled, moulded skewputts. The stone-coped stacks are topped with circular cans.