Starbank House, 17 Laverockbank Road, Edinburgh

Starbank House, located at 17 Laverockbank Road in Edinburgh, is a villa built around 1815 with later additions. This two-storey, three-bay villa features asymmetric single-storey wings and a later two-storey northern wing, creating a T-plan layout. It is set within a very large landscaped garden that is now a public park. The building is constructed from coursed sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings, and there is a dividing course between the ground and first floors. The roof is piended with very broad eaves.

The south (principal) elevation is regularly fenestrated, featuring a glazed timber door with a pointed-arched fanlight set in a chamfered hoodmoulded Gothick surround in the central bay, along with a window on the first floor. To the left, there is a pyramid-roofed single-storey pavilion with an ornate weather vane, which is linked by a modern garage. On the right, there is a single-storey pitched roof extension that includes a glazed Gothick panelled door.

The north (rear) elevation is also regularly fenestrated, with a central tripartite window at ground floor level in the northern wing. There is a later tile-hung dormer window in the attic. The windows are timber sash and case with a 12-pane glazing pattern, and the roof is covered with graded grey slates. Stone-coped stacks with circular cans are present.

The property also features a high coped rubble boundary wall along Laverockbank Road, which transitions to a low coped red sandstone ashlar wall topped by hooped railings to the north. A Doulton Fountain, which was vandalised in 1999, showcases florid Art Nouveau detailing with a double basin, scrolled buttresses, a circular water container with pyramidal uprights, and a presentation plaque. The wrought-iron gates and cast-iron gateposts exhibit high-quality naturalistic detail.